10-04-2017, 08:38 PM
Abstract
A plethora of security protocol implementations, for wireless networks, exist today. The various mechanisms and algorithms that are webbed together into current suite of wireless security protocols have serious flaws. Enhancements to the existing protocols in the domain of Wireless Networks are severely needed. Here we analyze the security aspects of existing authentication frameworks for wireless networks, namely 802.11 and 802.1x. The Authentication methods stipulated by 802.11, i.e. Use of SSID, Open Authentication, Shared Key Authentication and Client MAC Verification have their share of vulnerabilities. Although 802.1x supports port based authentication and has key management features, it suffers from lack of Mutual Authentication and Session Hijacking attacks. One way authentication is simply not enough because as only server authenticates the client, the client cannot be sure of the server s identity. We then propose and explain our authentication and security system. We also present a study of RADIUS and EAP Protocols. RADIUS protocol for Authenticator Server and IEE 802.1x protocol with EAP-TTLS have emerged as our protocols of choice after a comparative study of various protocols mentioned above. RADIUS follows a Client-Server Model and provides network security by the use of a shared secret which is never sent over the network and encryption. EAP is an Authentication Protocol. Its variant EAP-TTLS uses digital certificates and tunneling for User Authentication. Our Mechanism makes use of these protocols and thus provides a robust security solution with strong mutual authentication.
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