Authentication in wireless communications

Easy access to radio links makes wireless communication susceptible to the exposure of sensitive information and fraudulent use of the services. These threats may come from outsiders who can only collect information on the radio links, or insiders who can somehow access a system's secret information. Through an authentication protocol, which verifies the identities of both parties over the wireless link and then establishes a common secret key between them, these threats can be reduced or even completely eliminated. With emphasis on the PCS- and GSM-like communication environments where users roam among multiple service domains and portable units are equipped with only limited battery power, the authors propose two efficient authentication protocols to provide services such as message confidentiality, caller ID confidentiality, call intractability, and fraud control.<>