A method at a first communication node providing communication of Network Access Stratum, NAS, messages with a second communication node, the method comprising: providing a first NAS connection identification for a first NAS connection between the first and second communication nodes; providing a second NAS connection identification for a second NAS connection between the first and second communication nodes, wherein the first and second NAS connection identifications are different, wherein the first and second NAS connections are different and share a master key of a NAS security context; communicating a first NAS message between the first and second communication nodes over the first NAS connection, wherein communicating the first NAS message comprises at least one of performing integrity protection and/or performing confidentiality protection for the first NAS message using the first NAS connection identification; and performing the integrity protection for the first NAS message by generating a first message authentication code based on the first NAS connection identification, the master key, and the first NAS message, and transmitting the first NAS message with the first message authentication code over the first NAS connection to the second communication node; communicating a second NAS message between the first and second communication nodes over the second NAS connection, wherein communicating the second NAS message comprises at least one of performing integrity protection and/or performing confidentiality protection for the second NAS message using the second NAS connection identification, and performing the integrity protection for the second NAS message by generating a second message authentication code based on the second NAS connection identification, the master key, and the second NAS message, and transmitting the second NAS message with the second message authentication code over the second NAS connection to the second communication node. providing a first NAS connection identification for a first NAS connection between the first and second communication nodes; providing a second NAS connection identification for a second NAS connection between the first and second communication nodes, wherein the first and second NAS connection identifications are different, wherein the first and second NAS connections are different and share a master key of a NAS security context; communicating a first NAS message between the first and second communication nodes over the first NAS connection, wherein communicating the first NAS message comprises at least one of performing integrity protection and/or performing confidentiality protection for the first NAS message using the first NAS connection identification; and performing the integrity protection for the first NAS message by generating a first message authentication code based on the first NAS connection identification, the master key, and the first NAS message, and transmitting the first NAS message with the first message authentication code over the first NAS connection to the second communication node; communicating a second NAS message between the first and second communication nodes over the second NAS connection, wherein communicating the second NAS message comprises at least one of performing integrity protection and/or performing confidentiality protection for the second NAS message using the second NAS connection identification, and performing the integrity protection for the second NAS message by generating a second message authentication code based on the second NAS connection identification, the master key, and the second NAS message, and transmitting the second NAS message with the second message authentication code over the second NAS connection to the second communication node.