Secure and mobile networking

Abstract

The IETF Mobile IP protocol is a significant step towards enabling nomadic Internet users. It allows a mobile node to maintain and use the same IP address even as it changes its point of attachment to the Internet. Mobility implies higher security risks than static operation. Portable devices may be stolen or their traffic may, at times, pass through links with questionable security characteristics. Most commercial organizations use some combination of source-filtering routers, sophisticated firewalls, and private address spaces to protect their network from unauthorized users. The basic Mobile IP protocol fails in the presence of these mechanisms even for authorized users. This paper describes enhancements that enable Mobile IP operation in such environments, i.e., they allow a mobile user, out on a public portion of the Internet, to maintain a secure virtual presence within his firewall-protected office network. This constitutes what we call a Mobile Virtual Private Network (MVPN).