Strong Personal Authentication Scheme Using Mobile Technology

Abstract

Security is a major concern in computer networks. Authentication is possibly the most important factor since achieving privacy and integrity may make no sense without a guarantee of receiver identity. Cryptographic strong authentication protocols are well known but the real problem is to protect secret information, such as shared or private keys, used in these protocols. In regard to the problem of smart card availability (devices and readers), we propose a mobile architecture using more deployed technologies such as cellular phones or PDAs and wireless personal area networks (WPAN) like Bluetooth. The mobile device (cellular phones or PDAs) acts as a smart card, storing private information and performing cryptographic operations while WPANs replace smart card readers. The risk of insecure wireless networks inclusion is studied and solved using suitable authentication protocols.