Hop integrity in computer networks

Abstract

A computer network is said to provide hop integrity if, when any router, p, in the network receives a message, m, supposedly from an adjacent router, q, then p can check that m was indeed sent by q, was not modified after it was sent and was not a replay of an old message sent from q to p. We describe three protocols that can be added to the routers in a computer network so that the network can provide hop integrity, and thus overcome most denial-of-service attacks. These three protocols are a secret exchange protocol, a weak integrity protocol and a strong integrity protocol. All three protocols are stateless, require small overhead and do not constrain the network protocol in the routers in any way.