A Physical Layer Key Negotiation Mechanism to Secure Wireless Networks

Abstract

The rapid technological developments in computing technology and the proliferation of wireless network nodes with light infrastructure, have emerged large quantities of security requirements of informational privacy in cyberspace. Due to the inherent nature of open medium, diversity and variability of network topology, wireless networks are greatly difficult to secure by traditional methods. A physical layer key negotiation mechanism to secure wireless networks is proposed to quickly exchange and establish conventional cryptographic keys by exploiting the wireless channel’s characteristics. The physical layer key negotiation mechanism and its supplementary exception handling caused by the variations in communication paths are both described step by step. The simulation results verify the consistency of the keys of legitimate users, robustness and feasibility of this mechanism. Furthermore this cross-layer security technology is an exemplary complement to existing wireless network protocols to improve their security and enhances the ability to resist replay attacks, brute-force attack and eavesdropping.