In one exemplary and non-limiting aspect thereof a method is provided that includes sending a wireless network (WN) a first message that includes a list of authentication mechanisms supported by a node and, in association with each authentication mechanism, a corresponding identity; determining in the WN an authentication mechanism to be used for bootstrapping, based at least on the list received from the node; and including information in a second message that is sent to the node, the information including the determined authentication mechanism in conjunction with a corresponding identity. The method further includes protecting at least the list of authentication mechanisms supported by the node and the corresponding identities and sending a second message to the network, the second message including at least the list of authentication mechanisms and the corresponding identities. The method further includes receiving a second response message from the network that is at least partially integrity protected, where the second response message includes an indication of the selected authentication mechanism and the corresponding identity.