Secure Framework for the Return Routability Procedure in MIPv6

Mobile communication is expected to boost once again when IPv6 has finally replaced IPv4 as the next Internet addressing protocol. The reason for that is the enhanced capabilities and built-in mobility support provided by IPv6 thorough its dedicated protocol - namely Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6). One of the major improvements for MIPv6 promises is what is referred to as ´Route Optimization´ (RO). MIPv6 RO is a sequence of processes that enables two mobile nodes to communication directly without having to go through an intermediate node. Obviously, this eliminates the drawbacks of triangular routing (as in MIPv4) and moreover, allows for the end-to-end communication model IPv6 aims to achieve. However, the RO process includes a security vulnerability associated with one of its sub-processes, the ´return routability procedure´ (RRP). In this paper, we address the security of the RRP in MIPv6 and propose the use of Identity-based schemes for that purpose.