Security issues of WiMAX

• Main Author: Tan, Yong Qi.
• Other Authors: Chan Choong Wah
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Wireless communication systems
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38753
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Broadband access technology has significant influences in the telecommunication industry. Worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) is a broadband wireless technology which brings broadband experience into a wide range of wireless networks with dramatically high data rate of information transfer. Data security has become a major issue in most network protocols. This is due to the increasing importance of information. Due to this importance, different security mechanism were designed, and deployed. In IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), security has been considered as the main issue during the design of the protocol. However, security mechanism of the WiMAX still remains a question. WiMAX is relatively a new technology; not deployed widely to justify the evidence of threats, risk and vulnerability in real situations. This paper will address the security mechanisms defined in WiMAX and explain the security vulnerabilities and threats mentioned in the available literature with possible solutions. It will also illustrate the basics of WiMAX security including architecture, protocols, and cryptography algorithms defined by the IEEE802.16 working group. This paper will also illustrates the basics Public Key Management (PKM) protocol, authentication, authorization, security associations, and traffic securing corresponding to version 1 and version 2 of PKM protocol.