HIPL: HIP for Linux

Host Identity Protocol for Linux (HIPL) is an open source software project at Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT) and Helsinki University of Technology (HUT). You can use the software for following things:

• Encrypt and protect all Internet connections. Similar to TLS, but does not require changes in applications and works also with UDP.
• Public key based access control. Similar to VPN, but the traffic is protected end-to-end. You can do this using the firewall software or the graphical user interface.
• Set-up a server behind NAT. For example, you can set-up multiple apache servers listening on the standard HTTP port behind your NAT box. Does not require reconfiguration of your NAT box.
• Store and lookup hostname and address information of your host. Works similarly as DNS, but is based on free and distributed technology.
• Internet connections survive short-time address changes. For example, this can happen when your DHCP address lease expires.

The following features are either heavily work-in-progress or very unstable:

• Long-term disconnectivity. Carrying a laptop from home to office and the TCP connections survive the timeout.
• Loading of public keys from USB stick or smart card.
• Privacy extensions.
• Light-weight HIP for small devices.