On performance analysis of challenge/response based authentication in wireless networks

The emergence of public access wireless networks enables ubiquitous Internet services, whereas inducing more challenges of security due to open mediums. As one of the most widely used security mechanisms, authentication is to provide secure communications by preventing unauthorized usage and negotiating credentials for verification. Meanwhile, it generates heavy overhead and delay to communications, further deteriorating overall system performance. Therefore, it is very important to have an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the security and quality of service (QoS) through the authentication in wireless networks. In this paper, we analyze the impact of authentication on the security and QoS quantitatively. First, a system model based on challenge/response authentication mechanism is introduced, which is wide applied in various mobile environments. Then, the concept of security levels is proposed to describe the protection of communications with regard to the nature of security, i.e., information secrecy, data integrity, and resource availability. Third, traffic and mobility patterns are taken into account for quantitative analysis of QoS. Finally, we provide numerical results to demonstrate the impact of security levels, mobility and traffic patterns on overall system performance in terms of authentication cost, delay, and call dropping probability.