A secure cluster-based authentication and key management protocol for machine-type communication in the LTE network

Abstract

Machine to machine (M2M) communication allows both the wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices that have the same ability. The security services in mobile networks such as authentication, data confidentiality, and data integrity are mostly performed using cryptographic techniques. For this reason, we propose a secure cluster-based authentication, key management (SCAKM) protocol for machine-type communication in the long-term evolution (LTE) network. The proposed SCAKM protocol consists of the following three phases: clustering, new authentication, and key management. First, efficient clustering is achieved by an optimal spiral dynamic algorithm and CH selection is designed by the different constraints such as communication link quality, communication capability, and energy consumption. Second, authentication is done by the signcryption algorithm that enhances the security between the machine-type communication devices and the core network. Third, key management is done by the updated dynamic group membership management scheme. Moreover, the proposed SCAKM protocol is analyzed and validated by the network simulator (NS2) tool to signify its security against several malicious attacks. Simulation results show that the SCAKM protocol performs better than existing protocols in terms of bandwidth consumption, signaling overhead, transmission cost, and transmission delay.