[CPCC] TALK: Wireless Privacy Protocols Jan 10 2 PM

Ender Ayanoglu ayanoglu at uci.edu
Mon Jan 7 16:37:47 PST 2008


                                  TALK

         Improved Communications Protocols for Better Wireless Privacy

                                    by

                              David Wetherall
                 Intel Research and University of Washington

                            January 10, Thursday
                                    2 PM
			         Calit2 3008


                                   Abstract

We have started a new research effort to build wireless systems that
provide a high degree of privacy for the users of mobile
devices. Existing wireless protocols suchas 802.11 transmit unique
identifiers, e.g., MAC addresses, that allow users to be tracked and
profiled by any nearby observer. This is becoming problematic as
wireless devices become more ubiquitous and more personal (with the
proliferation of mobile phones, personal fitness and medical devices,
headsets, and consumer electronics) and security problems become more
pressing (with the rise in identity theft and unintended
disclosures). To counter these threats, we are developing techniques
that selectively disclose addresses and other distinguishing
information that maps to high-level identities. This is challenging
because addresses play a basic role in protocols such that they cannot
be concealed without impact; traditional encryption methods such as
WPA2, IPSEC and SSL do not prevent tracking and profiling. I will
motivate the problem of wireless privacy despite the best security
practices in use today, and give an overview of our link-layer
protocol that provides a high degree of privacy.

                              Speaker's Biography

David Wetherall is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, and
Director of the nearby Intel Research Seattle lab since 2006. The lab
is focused on computing systems that are woven into the fabric of
everyday life, or ubiquitous computing.  Wetherall joined the
University of Washington faculty in 1999 after receiving his Ph.D,
E.E. and S.M. in computer science from MIT; he received his B.E. in
electrical engineering from the University of Western Australia in
1989. His thesis research pioneered active networks, an architecture in
which new network services can be introduced rapidly using mobile code,
and for which he received the SIGCOMM Test-of-Time Award in 2007. His
research interests are concentrated in networking, including wireless
networks and the Internet. Wetherall received an NSF CAREER award in
2002 and became a Sloan Fellow in 2004. His work on Internet mapping
received the Best Student Paper awardat SIGCOMM 2002 and the IEEE
Bennett Prize in 2004.


A Networked Systems Seminar Presentation
Host: Athina Markopoulou
Refreshments at 1:45 PM
newport.eecs.uci.edu/~athina/netsys/netsys-seminar.html

Directions: www.uci.edu/campusmaps.shtml


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