Security vulnerabilities and protection mechanisms of mobility management protocols

Mobility protocols are originally proposed to support ongoing Internet connectivity of hosts or networks in motion. However, the requirement of seamless connectivity in mobile environment and use of route optimization between the communicating nodes have introduced several security vulnerabilities to mobility protocols. In this paper, we explain with illustrative examples major security threats on various components of the network involving the mobility protocol. We have analyzed critically several existing security solutions that have been proposed to prevent or mitigate security attacks on mobility protocols. We have also identified additional security holes of these existing solutions and propose some simple mechanisms to counter them.