An Efficient Rekeying Framework for Multiple Multicast and Broadcast Groups in Mobile WiMAX

Abstract

IEEE 802.16e is an emerging wireless technology, it is also called mobile WiMAX due to its mobility, which supports seamless services under vehicular speed. Multicast/Broadcast (M&B) in WiMAX is very useful for several applications, such as multimedia services and streaming stock quotes. IEEE 802.16e defines Multicast and Broadcast Rekeying Algorithm (MBRA) to protect M&B group communication; however, MBRA lacks forward secrecy and backward secrecy. According to the properties of mobility and multiple M&B groups, the conventional rekeying schemes which provide forward and backward secrecy will incur another problem, burst rekeying problem, which rekeying procedures are frequently triggered. In this paper, we propose a new framework cooperating with batch rekeying algorithms to reduce the number of triggered rekeying procedures without affecting security. The simulation result shows that we can mitigate the burst rekeying problem to get better performance.