Towards secure mobility support for IP networks

The upcoming protocol architecture for mobile communications in the Internet, Mobile IP, inhibits various potential vulnerabilities to malicious attacks and, therefore, requires the integration of appropriate security services. This paper analyses the most prominent current approaches for improving the functionality of Mobile IP from a security point of view, focussing on the criteria of efficiency, scalability, transparency, and manageability which are crucial for application in real world networks. The three big topics covered are authentication and key management, confidentiality and integrity, and efficient micro-mobility support. The paper concludes with an outlook to ongoing research efforts addressing the problems identified before