Data Confidentiality in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are self-configuring infrastructure-less networks comprised of mobile nodes that communicate over wireless links without any central control on a peer-to-peer basis. These individual nodes act as routers to forward both their own data and also their neighbours' data by sending and receiving packets to and from other nodes in the network. The relatively easy configuration and the quick deployment make ad hoc networks suitable the emergency situations (such as human or natural disasters) and for military units in enemy territory. Securing data dissemination between these nodes in such networks, however, is a very challenging task. Exposing such information to anyone else other than the intended nodes could cause a privacy and confidentiality breach, particularly in military scenarios. In this paper we present a novel framework to enhance the privacy and data confidentiality in mobile ad hoc networks by attaching the originator policies to the messages as they are sent between nodes. We evaluate our framework using the Network Simulator (NS-2) to check whether the privacy and confidentiality of the originator are met. For this we implemented the Policy Enforcement Points (PEPs), as NS-2 agents that manage and enforce the policies attached to packets at every node in the MANET.Comment: 12 page

Securing personal distributed environments

The Personal Distributed Environment (PDE) is a new concept being developed by Mobile VCE allowing future mobile users flexible access to their information and services. Unlike traditional mobile communications, the PDE user no longer needs to establish his or her personal communication link solely through one subscribing network but rather a diversity of disparate devices and access technologies whenever and wherever he or she requires. Depending on the services’ availability and coverage in the location, the PDE communication configuration could be, for instance, via a mobile radio system and a wireless ad hoc network or a digital broadcast system and a fixed telephone network. This new form of communication configuration inherently imposes newer and higher security challenges relating to identity and authorising issues especially when the number of involved entities, accessible network nodes and service providers, builds up. These also include the issue of how the subscribed service and the user’s personal information can be securely and seamlessly handed over via multiple networks, all of which can be changing dynamically. Without such security, users and operators will not be prepared to trust their information to other networks

Localization to Enhance Security and Services in Wi-Fi Networks under Privacy Constraints

Developments of seamless mobile services are faced with two broad challenges, systems security and user privacy - access to wireless systems is highly insecure due to the lack of physical boundaries and, secondly, location based services (LBS) could be used to extract highly sensitive user information. In this paper, we describe our work on developing systems which exploit location information to enhance security and services under privacy constraints. We describe two complimentary methods which we have developed to track node location information within production University Campus Networks comprising of large numbers of users. The location data is used to enhance security and services. Specifically, we describe a method for creating geographic firewalls which allows us to restrict and enhance services to individual users within a specific containment area regardless of physical association. We also report our work on LBS development to provide visualization of spatio-temporal node distribution under privacy considerations

The system architecture of the Pocket Companion

In the Moby Dick project we design the architecture of a so-called Pocket Companion. It is a small personal portable computer with wireless communication facilities for every day use. The typical use of the Pocket Companion induces a number of requirements concerning security, performance, energy consumption, communication and size. We have shown that these requirements are interrelated and can only be met optimal with one single architecture. The Pocket Companion architecture consists of a central switch with a security module surrounded by several modules. The Pocket Companion is a personal machine. Communication, and particularly wireless communication, is essential for the system to support electronic transactions. Such a system requires a good security infrastructure not only for safeguarding personal data, but also to allow safe (financial) transactions. The integration of a security module in the Pocket Companion architecture provides the basis for a secure environment.\ud Because battery life is limited and battery weight is an important factor for the size and the weight of the Pocket Companion, energy consumption plays a crucial role in the architecture. An important theme of the architecture is: enough performance for minimal energy consumption