Enhanced protocols for hierarchical encryption key management for secure communication in internet environments

Two enhancements to a recently published hierarchical encryption key management protocol for end-to-end secure communication in internet environments are outlined. The first one concerns a more reliable authentication of the principals which can be realized by a modification of the message structures being exchanged, while the second one concerns a modified protocol that permits the implementation of the hierarchical key management approach in the widely employed TCP/IP-based network interconnections