Enabling Secure Ad hoc Communications in the Enterprise∗

Ad hoc communication applications, such as computer-facilitated collaboration, have become possible with the rapid advancements in portable computing and ad hoc wireless networking. Ad hoc communication solutions require a balance between private communications and access to corporate networked services in order to succeed. In this paper, we discuss and offer some approaches in integrating ad hoc communications into an enterprise framework through the use of secure group services and presence. We believe that the projection of presence and availability are crucial in facilitating spontaneous and ad hoc communication sessions, but argue that the challenges lie in the proper manipulation of user and enterprise policies to allow these sessions to occur in a manner acceptable to the enterprise. We present concepts that focus on the use of presence and group-based policies which we call Presence Associations, that we hope will encourage communications and collaboration among users as well as protect their privacy.