Patent ID: 8484467

Claim:
A method comprising: sending a message from a network entity to an user equipment, wherein the message includes a set of options for an authentication procedure for authenticating an internet protocol communication over a first interface between the user equipment and the network entity, the set of options including a first option and a second option, wherein the first option represents using a first internet key exchange authentication procedure based on a security key obtained from a bootstrapping service function in accordance with a generic bootstrapping architecture, and wherein the second option represents using a second internet key exchange authentication procedure based on a certificate; selecting at least one of the first option and the second option from the set of options and, when the first option is selected, the first internet key exchange authentication procedure is implemented between the network entity and the user equipment and a shared secret is generated from the security key established in the generic bootstrapping architecture over a second interface between the user equipment and the bootstrapping service function; and using the shared secret to compute and verify authentication payloads in the first internet key exchange authentication procedure for the internet protocol communication over the first interface.