An improved ATLAS encryption technique for ATM networks

摘要

ATLAS is an implementation of the counter mode DES encryption technique in ATM networks. It can efficiently encrypt data at 155.52 Mbps but higher data rates have not been tested. One of the limitations that hinders the efficient operation of ATLAS at higher data rates is the dependency of ATLAS on data from the ATM layer to formulate the state vector which is a genuine factor in the encryption process. Such dependency produces unnecessary delays that affect the methods performance at higher data rates. In this work, we propose replacing the state vector generation algorithm by a simpler, yet efficient, algorithm that eliminates unnecessary delays and further accelerates the encryption process. We present the concepts behind the proposed algorithm and we perform a comparison between the proposed algorithm and its counterpart applied in ATLAS technique. A C -language implementation is provided for the sake of determining the efficiency of the proposed algorithm compared to the original method by embedding the built code into an ATM simulator and running a set of simulations.