Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability

A method of transmitting data packets over a network comprising a plurality of computers connected to each other through a plurality of physical transmission paths, the method comprising the steps of:

• (1) for each of a plurality of data packets, randomly selecting one of the plurality of physical transmissions paths through the plurality of computers;
• (2) selecting a next pair of source and destination network addresses generated from an algorithm that generates a plurality of pairs of source and destination network addresses each associated with the one randomly selected physical transmission path;
• and
• (3) transmitting each data packet over the randomly selected physical transmission path using the selected next pair of source and destination network addresses.

A system comprising:

• a first computer that embeds into each of a plurality of data packets a network address that periodically changes between successive data packets, wherein each network address is used to route packets over a network, and
• a second computer coupled to the first computer through the network,
• wherein the first computer transmits the plurality of data packets to the second computer, and
• wherein the second computer receives the transmitted data packets, compares the network address in each received data packet to a moving window of valid network addresses and, in response to detecting a match, accepts the received data packet for further processing, and otherwise rejects the received data packet.

A receiving computer that receives data packets from a transmitting computer, wherein the receiving computer comprises computer instructions that execute the steps of

• (1) for each received data packet, extracting a discriminator value inserted by the transmitting computer;
• (2) comparing the extracted discriminator value to a set of valid discriminator values on the basis of information previously shared with the transmitting computer;
• and
• (3) in response to detecting a match in step (2), accepting the received data packet for further processing and otherwise rejecting the data packet, wherein the receiving computer maintains a sliding window of valid discriminator values, wherein the window slides to encompass a next range of valid discriminator values in response to detecting matches, wherein the receiving computer further comprises computer instructions that extract as the discriminator value an Internet Protocol address from a header portion of each data packet.