Secure Pre-authentication Schemes for Fast Handoff in Proxy Mobile IPv6

Abstract

In mobile communication, there are various types of handoff for the support of all forms of mobility. Proxy mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) enables local network-based mobility management of a mobile node without any effect of mobility-related signaling. Recently, PMIPv6 has been considered for supporting mobility management in LTE/SAE-based mobile networks. To support seamless mobility in heterogeneous mobile networks, the overall cost of handoffs needs to be minimized and the procedure should be guaranteed to be secure. However, the reduction of the authentication cost has not been fully investigated to provide seamless connectivity when mobile users perform a handoff between the PMIPv6 domains. This paper proposes secure pre-authentication schemes, completing an authentication procedure before performing a handoff, for a fast handoff in PMIPv6. Analytic models have been used for measuring the authentication latency and for the overhead cost analysis. In addition to providing fast authentication, the proposed pre-authentication schemes can prevent threats such as replay attacks and key exposure.