A New Authentication Protocol for IEEE 802.11 Using a Group Key Supporting Fast Handover

Currently, WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) based on IEEE 802.11 standard are widely used because it can provide high-speed with relatively low cost. Moreover, WLAN can also support mobility of users. To provide seamless mobility, reducing latency during handovers is very important. In this paper, we propose a new authentication protocol based on a group key agreement protocol which can significantly reduce authentication latency during handovers.