Securing Wireless Communications at the Physical Layer - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 144191384X ISBN 13: 9781441913845

Publisher: Springer, 2009

Synopsis

Securing communications is a challenging task. A ?rst attempt at security involves learning basic cryptography, and applying encryption algorithms to make messages unintelligible to adversaries. However, rarely is the task of securing a message - changesosimple.Whenonestepsbackandcontemplateshowtosecuretheexchange of communications, one realizes that the challenge is fundamentally one of bui- ing a complete solution. For example, one must ensure that all entities involved have proper and authenticated cryptographic material, or one must ensure that one veri?ably knows to whom one is communicating, or one must understand how the communication process takes place so as to make certain there are no vulnerabilities introduced by the communication process itself. Thislastissue, namelythatsecuritymethodsareoftenbuiltwithoutconsideration to how communication takes place, represents a fundamental gap where much of modern security research has fallen short.The security literature is ?lled with a mass of articles on cryptographic primitives and, although there are still many theoretical hurdlestobeovercomebythecryptographiccommunity,mostoftheseshortcomings areacademicandtherearenownumeroustextbooksoncryptographythatcanprovide thebasicintroductionneededtoemploycryptographicprimitives.Ontheothersideof thecoin,thesecurityliteratureisalso?lledwithamassofarticlesdevotedtobuilding secure protocols and, similarly, there are now numerous textbooks on computer securitythatprovidetheinstructionneededtodesignsecureprotocols.Unfortunately, the issue of how communication takes place or, more speci?cally, whether there are any speci?c issues that might arise or be circumvented because message exchanges aretakingplaceononemediumversusanother(e.g., wirelesscommunicationversus wired communication), is generally neglected.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Wireless systems are becoming increasingly pervasive and securing these systems has been challenging, in large part due to the unique properties associated with wireless communications. Securing these networks has traditionally been approached by taking a conventional approach involving cryptographic protocols. Such an approach inherently seeks to secure the wireless network at the link layer and above, and consequently fails to leverage the most unique characteristic of wireless communication: its physical layer.

Securing Wireless Communications at the Physical Layer is a compilation of contributions by experts in wireless communications and security, and presents state-of-the-art results that examine the challenge of introducing security at the physical layer of a wireless system. Throughout this book there is an underlying theme that the rich multipath environment that is typical of wireless scenarios supports the establishment of new security services at the physical layer, including new mechanisms that establish cryptographic keys, that support communication with assured confidentiality, and that can authenticate transmitters in mobile environments. The book takes a holistic approach to covering topics related to physical layer security solutions, with contributions ranging from the theoretical underpinnings behind secure communications to practical systems validations that have been performed on real wireless systems. The book also covers topics related to ensuring that cooperative wireless communications at the physical layer is trustworthy. Additionally, the emerging area of modulation forensics, whereby a device is able to identify the modulation format being employed by other devices is explored.

Securing Wireless Communications at the Physical Layer will serve as a valuable reference to engineers and researchers in the fields of security and wireless communications.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 144191384X
• ISBN 13: 9781441913845
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 412
• Editor: Liu Ruoheng, Trappe Wade