Token Based Authentication for Handover Security
Yi Cheng, Arne Norefors · 1999
In wireless mobile communications when a user moves from one access point to another, there is a risk that an attacker pretending to be that user will get accepted by the second access point and thus be able to hijack the communication session from the real user. To thwart this kind of attack, during handover measures must be taken to authenticate the user before granting access. In this paper we propose a security token based approach which, compared to other existing approaches, gives the best comprehensive result with respect to security assurance, processing efficiency and handover performance. We present the design of a token based authentication protocol that effectively prevents impostors from capturing the communication channel at handover. The protocol, with two alternatives, is widely applicable to various network environments, and it imposes minimal processing overhead on mobile devices. This protocol has been proposed to be one part of the security solution for the HIPERLAN Type 2 wireless local area networks.