Title :
Weaknesses of North American wireless authentication protocol
Author_Institution :
Bellcore, USA
fDate :
6/1/1997 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Security for cellular and PCS systems in the United States will be based on secret key schemes for authentication and encryption. The effectiveness of security for wireless, as in other applications of cryptography, will depend on the ability of the basic cryptographic algorithms to withstand attacks and on sound protocol design. We show the IS-41 authentication protocol to be unsound by pointing to multiple flaws in the protocol which allow a network impersonator to gain service without “breaking the CAVE algorithm”. These flaws effectively nullify authentication
Keywords :
access protocols; cellular radio; cryptography; message authentication; personal communication networks; telecommunication signalling; telecommunication standards; CAVE algorithm; IS-41 authentication protocol; North American standard; North American wireless authentication protocol; PCS systems; USA; United States; authentication protocol flaws; cellular systems; cryptographic algorithms; cryptography; encryption; intersystem signaling; protocol design; secret key; system access protocol; wireless security; Access protocols; Authentication; Cloning; Costs; Cryptographic protocols; Databases; Personal communication networks; Public key cryptography; Telephone sets; Wireless application protocol;
Journal_Title :
Personal Communications, IEEE
