Selection of EAP-authentication methods in WLANs

IEEE 802.1X is a key part of IEEE802.11i. By employing Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) it supports a variety of upper layer authentication methods each with different benefits and drawbacks. Any one of these authentication methods can be the ideal choice for a specific networking environment. The fact that IEEE 802.11i leaves the selection of the most suitable authentication method to system implementers makes the authentication framework more flexible, but on the other hand leads to the question of how to select the authentication method that suits an organisation’s requirements and specific networking environment. This paper gives an overview of EAP authentication methods and provides a table comparing their properties. It then identifies the crucial factors to be considered when employing EAP authentication methods in WLAN environments. The paper presents algorithms that guide the selection of an EAP-authentication method for a WLAN and demonstrates their application through three examples

Computational and Energy Costs of Cryptographic Algorithms on Handheld Devices

Networks are evolving toward a ubiquitous model in which heterogeneous devices are interconnected. Cryptographic algorithms are required for developing security solutions that protect network activity. However, the computational and energy limitations of network devices jeopardize the actual implementation of such mechanisms. In this paper, we perform a wide analysis on the expenses of launching symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic algorithms, hash chain functions, elliptic curves cryptography and pairing based cryptography on personal agendas, and compare them with the costs of basic operating system functions. Results show that although cryptographic power costs are high and such operations shall be restricted in time, they are not the main limiting factor of the autonomy of a device

An Analisys of Business VPN Case Studies

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) simulates a secure private network through a shared public insecure infrastructure like the Internet. The VPN protocol provides a secure and reliable access from home/office on any networking technology transporting IP packets. In this article we study the standards for VPN implementation and analyze two case studies regarding a VPN between two routers and two firewalls.VPN; Network; Protocol.

Performance analysis of a security architecture for active networks in Java

Internacional Association of Science and Technology for Development - IASTED, Benalmadena, Spain: 8-10 Septiembre, 2003.Active network technology supports the deployment and execution on the fly of new active services, without interrupting the network operation. Active networks are composed of special nodes (named Active Router) that are able to execute active code to offer the active services. This technology introduces some security threats that must be solved using a security architecture. We have developed a security architecture (ROSA) for an active network platform (SARA). Java has been used as programming language in order to provide portability, but it imposes some performance limitations. This paper analyses the penalty of using Java and proposes some mechanisms to improve the performance of cryptographic implementations in Java.Publicad