Hierarchical key establishment protocols based on secure keyed one-way hash functions

As key establishment protocols (KEP) are usually the initial step for setting up a secure network-based service, they are very important in enabling the required security. Most of the existing KEPs make use of cryptographic algorithms, either secret key or public-key cryptography. However, it is also possible to employ secure keyed one-way hash functions (SKOWHF) in KEP designs. Though several works have been published in this area, they only focus on the small scale networks. In this paper, we first introduce the SKOWHF-based secure trunks and secure channels; then, two rules for KEP construction, KER1 and KER2, are described. Finally, a hierarchical KEP for large scale networks is proposed.