Computing devices equipped with multiple radio interfaces and working on multiple channels are becoming predominant in wireless networks. These networks are usually Multi-Interface Multi-Channel Mobile Networks (MIMC-MANETs). However, the study of security vulnerabilities and the research of fundamental security mechanisms in channel management of MIMC-MANETs have been seriously lagging behind the rapid progress of other research.
This project studies the security of MIMC-MANETs in three aspects.
1. Investigating the unique (unknown) security vulnerabilities associated with channel management in MIMC-MANETs.
2. Developing MIMC-enabled security mechanisms. This project redefines channel conflict, reveals the fundamental causes and consequences of channel attacks, and develops novel and attack-resilient security mechanisms to secure channel management (and routing) in MIMC-MANETs. New security mechanisms utilize the capability of MIMC, and include collaborative channel monitoring, channel-utilization based channel conflict detection and resolution, logic-based attack investigation, and cross-layer security design.
3. Building MIMC security and performance evaluation toolkits: This project develops evaluation toolkits and builds experimental environments. The toolkits and experimental environments can serve as a major testbed for the whole research community to conduct future MIMC-MANET research.
This project will advance the understanding of the unique security problems in MIMC-MANETs. The developed techniques will greatly enhance the security of the MIMC network infrastructure and secure the mission critical applications built atop such networks. Broader impacts will result from the education, outreach, and dissemination initiatives. Educational resources from this project, including course modules and teaching laboratory designs, will be disseminated through a dedicated Website.
