| CPC H04L 9/3263 (2013.01) [G06F 21/602 (2013.01); G06F 21/64 (2013.01); H04L 41/0893 (2013.01)] | 18 Claims |

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1. A method comprising:
communicating, by a first device, with a second device, wherein the communicating comprises the first device receiving data from the second device representing a certificate, the certificate binding a hierarchy of logical identifiers to a cryptographic key, and the hierarchy of identifiers comprising a first logical identifier corresponding to a group membership;
authenticating, by the first device, the second device based on the certificate; and
allowing, by the first device, a secure connection to be set up between the first device and the second device based on whether the first logical identifier represents that the second device is a member of a first group of devices of which the first device is a member.
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