Trajectory prediction-based handover authentication mechanism for mobile relays in LTE-A high-speed rail networks

Abstract

The handover mechanism with the assist of mobile relay mounted in high-speed trains has been researched to support continuous communication services for Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) high-speed rail networks. According to the third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, the handover process for Mobile Relay Nodes (MRNs) from a donor eNB (DeNB) to another is the same as that for the common User Equipment (UE), which requires several rounds of message exchange with a complex key management mechanism. In addition, it cannot achieve the mutual authentication in handover procedures. In this paper, we propose a handover authentication mechanism based on trajectory prediction for mobile relays. In our scheme, the mutual authentication and key agreement between a MRN and the target DeNB is accomplished with ideal efficiency. Compared with the current 3GPP standards and other related schemes, our scheme effectively reduces the handover delays and at the same time provides strong security protection. Security analysis by using the formal verification tool AVISPA and SPAN and performance evaluation results show the security and efficiency of our scheme.