This is from http://skip.incog.com: SKIP - Simple Key management for Internet Protocols IP-Level Cryptography Secure every application with one protocol SKIP secures the network at the IP packet level. Any networked application gains the benefits of encryption, without requiring modification. SKIP is unique in that an Internet host can send an encrypted packet to another host without requiring a prior message exchange to set up a secure channel. SKIP is particularly well-suited to IP networks, as both are stateless protocols. Some of the advantages of SKIP include: - No connection setup overhead - High availability - encryption gateways that fail can reboot and resume decrypting packets instantly, without having to renegotiate (potentially thousands) of existing connections - Allows uni-directional IP (e.g., IP broadcast via satellite or cable) - Scalable multicast key distribution - SKIP gateways can be configured in parallel to perform instant-failover Archie Cobbs