Anonymity and untraceability assessment of authentication protocols in proxy mobile IPv6

Abstract

The Proxy Mobile IPv6 or the PMIPv6 is a protocol for mobile management as established by the Internet Engineering Task Force or IETF to assist in the intense usage of mobile devices and to lower the overhead of signaling. As the inclusion of the mobile node in the signaling related to mobility is not necessary, this type of solutions based on networks optimize the performance of the handover based on signaling overhead and handover latency. Nevertheless, the PMIPv6 has several disadvantages such as issues of privacy and security. The process of authentication of users is usually needed at the time of connecting to a wireless network. The mobile users might wander away from their home networks and be approached by other network services. These network services would usually require the users' credentials to authorize the usage of the service. In order to retain a level of anonymity, various degrees of information are required to be safe guarded including the Local Mobility Anchor ID, Media Access Gateway, and Mobile Node. Nevertheless, a few methods of authentication have been suggested to enhance the PMIPv6's performance since 2008 when this protocol was first established [1]; however, the issues of privacy are often ignored. This study attempts to evaluate the authentication methods of the PMIPv6 according to the anonymity of several network mechanisms. The findings of this study reveal that it is important to suggest an appropriate method of enhancing the protection and privacy of network mechanisms.