A symmetric key-based pre-authentication protocol for secure handover in mobile WiMAX networks

Providing secured and seamless service is one of the most important aspects of mobile networks, particularly for mobile WiMAX systems. However, the long delay handover schemes brought by the time-consuming EAP-based authentication may cause service disruption when a mobile WiMAX user moves between the coverage areas of different base stations. In this paper, we propose a handover scheme using symmetric key cryptography and pre-authentication approach to shorten the delay while ensuring high security level for Mobile WiMAX handover. The scheme is proven by BAN logic to achieve the security goals of an authentication scheme. A performance analysis is also carried out to show the effectiveness of this scheme in reducing handover delay and saving computational resources.