Authenticated Key Exchange (AKE), Authenticated Key Agreement (AKA) or Authentication and Key Establishment (AKE) is the exchange or creation of a session key in a key exchange protocol which also authenticates the identities of parties involved in key exchange.
[1] AKE typically occurs at the beginning of a communication session.
[2] Features of AKE protocols include determination of which keys already exist and can be used, how new keys will be generated, and how many users the protocol is applicable to.
[2] AKE protocols make use of long term keys that exist prior to the protocol, and session keys, which are typically symmetric keys established during the execution of the protocol.
[2] AKE protocols can be divided into four categories, based on the different types of long term keys used:[2] The use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) to secure HTTP connections is perhaps the most widely deployed AKE protocol.