Dynamic, distributed, secure multicast in active networks

This paper proposes two frameworks for secure multicast on active networks. The frameworks exploit the computational power of active networks to provide the security desired for multicast, while removing drawbacks in traditional approaches, The main security component in the frameworks is the active capability (AC) which replaces the passive session key. The main advantages of using an AC are lack of an asymmetric key pair requirement for authentication, lack of session key modification requirement when a member leaves the group and a highly distributed and scalable key distribution mechanism independent of availability of a group owner