Secured fast link-layer handover protocols for 3G-WLAN interworking architecture

Abstract

Interworking 3rd generation (3G) mobile systems and IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks (WLANs) introduces new challenges including the design of secured fast handover protocols. Handover operations must not compromise the security of the network. In addition, handovers must be instantaneous to sustain the quality of service (QoS) of the applications running on the WLAN-User Equipment (WLAN-UE). Existing handover protocols are not suitable for 3G-WLAN interworking because they are limited to Intra Extended Service Set (ESS) roaming and lack the support of mutual authentication between the WLAN-UE and the authentication server. This paper proposes novel secured fast handover protocols for 3G-WLAN interworking architectures, which overcome the limitations of existing handover protocols. The functionality of Extensible Authentication Protocol with Authentication and Key Agreement (EAP-AKA) is extended to support Intra and Inter ESS secured handover messaging. Modifications to the standard EAP-AKA authentication and the standard EAP-AKA key hierarchy are proposed to achieve the security goals of the proposed protocols. The proposed protocols are more suitable for 3G-WLAN interworking handovers than existing handover protocols because they support Inter ESS handover, achieve mutual authentication service and adopts an efficient key management scheme.