Key derivation using blockchain for accelerated handover in LTE

• Main Author: Lee, Han
• Other Authors: Ma Maode
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76957
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

LTE is the enabler of today’s world. Individuals use mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets over LTE to constantly stream music and videos. Businesses rely on these mobile devices to roll out their services closer to the customers. As the use of mobile devices increases, it becomes important to provide consistent user experience across the network, particularly when the mobile devices are on the move. One technical challenge is to provide seamless and secure handover as the mobile devices hop from one cell to another while they are moving. The handover process used in the current LTE system does not offer the level of speed required by the next generation cellular network. In this dissertation, the key derivation method used in the handover process is revisited and improved using a blockchain. This novel approach, using a blockchain, ensures a higher level of security as well as faster handover between cells. Unlike today’s LTE system, which holds back all handover operations until the handover process begins, the essence of the new approach lies on the ability to securely derive and share the handover keys before the handover process starts, effectively reducing the delay attributed to the handover process. The dissertation reviews extensively on the security benefits of mutual authentication and key establishment in the proposed scheme and demonstrates the performance results using a custom application written in JavaScript to verify the enhancements.