IEEE 802.16 (WIMAX) Security Issues

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is going to be an emerging technology for the future. IEEE 802.16 standard is designed to provide better security as compared to other wireless networks. It comes with lotof security features to protect the information in the network as well as to protect the network from unauthorized access, still it vulnerable to many attacks. IEEE 802.16 is a standard used for authentication and authorization which provides protection for a network or technology and protects its resources from unauthorized use. A global overview of the WiMAX technology is provided followed by security concerns and problems associated with WiMAX/IEEE 802.16 broadband wireless technology. This paper will address the security aspects of the IEEE 802.16 Standard and point out the security issues associated with MAC layer and Physical layer of WiMAX. This paper examines the security flaws in the standard as well as in related works, and key management protocols. Solutions in the standard were also proposed to prevent these attacks.