Background:
Wireless communication networks are now facing various risks of intrusion and attacks due to their lack of a physical association between the transmitter and legitimate receiver. The traditional methods to address these security issues are to use the higher layers of the OSI model which include conventional authentication and cryptographic techniques. Unfortunately, these techniques do not directly address the additional vulnerabilities of the wireless environment.
The properties of the physical layer offer a powerful and underutilized source of transmission-specific information that can be used to complement and enhance traditional security mechanisms. Therefore, an additional physical layer authentication technique is necessary to secure wireless communications, especially communications where security has the highest importance.
Description of the Invention:
Researchers at Western University have developed a novel embeddable security protocol to address the current vulnerabilities of wireless networks. This protocol uses features of the physical layer to continuously validate each member of the network and prevent vulnerabilities innate in wireless networks. By implementing both traditional as well as this novel protocol, network administrators can rest assured that their wireless channels of communication are completely secure.
Potential Advantages:
• Lower level signal security
• Secured by transmission specific information
Potential Applications:
• Banking industry
• Government agencies
• All wireless transmissions
Patent Status
• US patent application number 13/727,786 issued
• CA patent application number 2,799,974 in prosecution.
