Disruption-tolerant Local Authentication Method for Continuous and Secure In-Flight Wireless LAN

Abstract

In-Flight Wi-Fi today is suffering from various problems regarding security and usability. One of the obstacles is the disruption of the backhaul network for internet connection. Introducing a secure connection means like WPA2/WPA3 En-terprise, preferably combined with roaming capability, can solve most security problems and some usability issues. However, user authentication in the current roaming systems depends on the servers on the ground and suffers from network disruption. Since In-Flight Wi-Fi is becoming indispensable not only for internet connection but also for various in-flight services, user devices need to stay connected to the access points during the entire flight. A disruption-tolerant Public Wi-Fi system was proposed earlier to realize secure user authentication and to maintain local network use in temporary isolated areas affected by natural disasters. Based on this system, we have developed a user authentication system with roaming for continuous and secure In-Flight Wi-Fi. This paper provides an overview of prospective use cases and challenges, and proposes a certificate-based roaming system.