Security for ATM networks

This paper addresses the design and management of security services for ATM networks. Various options for the positioning of security services within the ATM protocol stack are discussed. After considering these possibilities, it is proposed to place the security layer between the AAL and ATM layers. The proposed security layer provides confidentiality, integrity and data origin authentication in the user plane. The paper then presents an authentication scheme and a key establishment protocol. This protocol is integrated with the existing ATM signaling protocol, as part of the call setup procedures. The developed security design can be transparently integrated into the B-ISDN protocol reference model without violating the existing standards.