Secure Voice over IP conferencing with decentralized group encryption

Abstract

This thesis addresses the development of an end-to-end secure Voice over IP (VoIP) conference system. We are particularly interested in challenges associated with deploying such a system in ad-hoc networks containing low bandwidth and/or high latency data links. End-to-end security is handled by the decentralized Public Key Group Encryption library (PKGE) developed at Lincoln Laboratory; PKGE allows real-time keying of conference users without an on-line central keying authority.We present a system design and its prototype implementation in accordance with a set of appropriate design goals. The final product demonstrates the feasibility of using PKGE in the demanding conditions of VoIP conferencing. The system development sheds light on a number of issues and engineering challenges that ultimately affect call quality, functionality, security, and usability, motivating our recommendations for the next generation system.