language: en

A Method Providing Identity Privacy to Mobile Users during Authentication

Didier Samfat, Refik Molva
Institut Eurecom
2229 Route des Cr�tes BP 193 - Sophia Antipolis FRANCE
{samfat, molva}@eurecom.fr August 12, 1994

Abstract The increasing development of mobile networks raises new security requirements and concerns. In addition to the basic need of authentication, confidentiality and key distribution services, a new problem involving privacy is the unauthorized tracking of users' migration. In other words, accessing any information related to the mobile user's location data without his consent, is a serious violation of his privacy. Moreover, if no care is taken, the disclosure of the mobile user real identity may appear during the authentication process. The basic solution to this problem is the use of aliases which insure nontraceability by hiding the user's real identity and also his relationship with domain authorities. In this paper we provide a classification of the different degrees of non-traceability and present a new efficient method for the computation of aliases. This technique can be used during authentication of mobile users and thus avoids the drawbacks of existing solutions such as GSM and CDPD.

Keywords: authentication, mobility, alias, non-traceability, GSM, CDPD, roaming, networksecurity.

1 Introduction