Formal Verification of IEEE 802.16 Security Sublayer Using Scyther Tool

WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) is a standard-based wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances. WiMAX is used for a number of applications, including "last mile" broadband connections, hotspots and cellular backhaul, and high-speed enterprise connectivity. The former IEEE 802.16 standards used the Privacy and Key Management (PKM) protocol which had many critical drawbacks. In IEEE 802.16e, a new version of this protocol called PKMv2 is released. This paper overviews IEEE 802.16e security, formally analyzes its improvements in contrast with IEEE 802.16-2004 security and potential security flaws. The formal analysis has been conducted using a specialized model checker Scyther, that provides formal proofs of the security protocols.