Wi-Fi has emerged as the technology of choice for Internet access. Thus, virtually every smartphone or tablet is now equipped with a Wi-Fi card. Concurrently, and as a means to maximize spectral efficiency, Wi-Fi radios are becoming increasingly complex and sensitive to wireless channel conditions. The prevalence of Wi-Fi networks, along with their adaptive behaviors, makes them an ideal target for denial of service attacks at a large, infrastructure level.
This project aims to comprehensively investigate the resiliency of Wi-Fi networks to smart attacks, and to design and implement robust solutions capable of resisting or countering them. The project additionally focuses on harnessing new capabilities of Wi-Fi radios, such as multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, to protect against powerful adversaries. The research blends theory with experimentation and prototyping, and spans a range of disciplines including protocol design and analysis, coding and modulation, on-line algorithms, queuing theory, and emergent behaviors.
The anticipated benefits of the project include: (1) a deep understanding of threats facing Wi-Fi along several dimensions, via experiments and analysis; (2) a set of mitigation techniques and algorithms to strengthen existing Wi-Fi networks and emerging standards; (3) implementation into open-source software that can be deployed on wireless network cards and access points; (4) security training of the next-generation of scientists and engineers involved in radio design and deployment.
