Patent · US Active

Wireless network security mechanism including reverse network address translation

US7941548B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
55References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 4, 2009
Grant dateMay 10, 2011
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 5, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04W88/08
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses and systems directed to preventing unauthorized access to internal network addresses transmitted across wireless networks. According to the invention, mobile stations are assigned virtual client network addresses that are used as the outer network addresses in a Virtual Private Network (VPN) infrastructure, as well as unique internal network addresses used as the inner network addresses. In one implementation, the virtual client network addresses have little to no relation to the internal network addressing scheme implemented on the network domain. In one implementation, all clients or mobile stations are assigned the same virtual client network address. A translation layer, in one implementation, intermediates the VPN session between the mobile stations and a VPN server to translate the virtual client network addresses to the internal network addresses based on the medium access control (MAC) address corresponding to the mobile stations. In this manner, the encryption inherent in the VPN infrastructure prevents access to the internal network addresses assigned to the mobile stations.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.