Providing availability in the lower layers of a wireless network: philosophies and case studies

Chiang, Jerry T.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/29432 Copy

Description

Title

Providing availability in the lower layers of a wireless network: philosophies and case studies

Author(s)

Chiang, Jerry T.

Issue Date

2012-02-01T00:46:12Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Hu, Yih-Chun

Committee Member(s)

• Kumar, P.R.
• Vaidya, Nitin H.
• Borisov, Nikita

Department of Study

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Discipline

Electrical and Computer Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• availability
• lower layers
• wireless networks

Abstract

Availability, together with confidentiality and integrity, form the basic concepts of information security. Indeed, a device, protocol, or network can enjoy the highest level of confidentiality and integrity, but still be of very little value to its clients if it is not available. In this dissertation, I consider the availability of wireless networks, which have permeated into almost every aspect of our daily life, from entertainment such as online games to utility infrastructure such as smart grids. A faulty entity can disrupt the connectivity offered by the lower layers of a wireless network and interrupt the provided services; thus, network availability in the lower layers is essential both to prevent inconveniences and to reliably provide critical services. This dissertation considers three major philosophies that aim to provide availability by defending against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks at the lower layers. Specifically, a network can 1. detect misbehaviors to eliminate DoS attacks; 2. enforce fairness to mitigate DoS attacks; or 3. adopt randomization to escape DoS attacks. For each philosophy, this dissertation presents a case study. I present a location verification protocol at the physical (PHY) layer that detects misbehavior in order to provide reliable position-based services. I also present a transport layer protocol that mitigates the flooding attack by enforcing Transport Control Protocal (TCP) fairness. I then present a flooding protocol that uses randomness at the PHY layer to escape from the jamming attack.

Graduation Semester

2011-12

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29432

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Jerry Chiang

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