A quantum-safe key hierarchy and dynamic security association for LTE/SAE in 5G scenario

Abstract

Millions of devices are becoming part of Internet of Things/5G. Securing these devices against all potential threats is a huge challenge. The 5G specification goals require rigid and robust security protocol against such threats. Quantum cryptography is a recently emerged term in which we test the robustness of security protocols against quantum computers. Therefore, in this article, we propose a security protocol called quantum key GRID for authentication and key agreement (QKG-AKA) scheme for the dynamic security association. This scheme is efficiently deployed in long term evolution architecture without any significant modifications in the underlying base system. The proposed QKG-AKA mechanism is analyzed for robustness and proven safe against quantum computers. The simulation results and performance analysis show drastic improvement regarding security and key management over existing schemes.