Transaction Based Authentication Scheme for Mobile Communication: A Cognitive Agent Based Approach

The vulnerable air interface, device level constraints, and insecure encryption techniques of wireless networks have naturally increased the chance of attacker obtaining users information fraudulently. Most of the existing authentication systems for mobile communication principally depends on the strength of authenticating identifiers. Once the client who may be genuine or an attacker, successfully proves the possession of the identifiers the system accepts all the transactions of a session under single risk level, which is the most important point of vulnerability. We propose a novel transaction based authentication scheme(TBAS) for mobile communication using cognitive agents. The proposed approach intensifies the procedure of authentication by deploying authentication scheme based on the transaction sensitivity and client's transaction time behaviors. The TEAS provides effective authentication solution, by relieving the conventional authentication systems, from being dependent on only the strength of authentication identifiers. Additionally the transaction time behavior analysis by cognitive agents provides rational approach towards establishing the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the mobile client. The method has been simulated with different applications over in-house established wired and wireless networks. The agent factory framework is used for cognitive agents generation and communication. The simulation results are quite encouraging.