An Agent-Oriented Quantum Key Distribution for Wi-Fi Network Security

It is the fact that wireless local area networks are increasingly deployed by businesses, government and SOHO users as they offer many advantages to its customers with mobility, flexibility, convenience etc. It opened a wide range of new commercial areas for hardware vendors, at low cost. This justifies why wireless networks have become one of the most widely used communication systems in the world. However, since there are no boundaries in wireless networks, they are vulnerable to security threats than wired networks. Therefore, providing secure communication for wireless networks has become one of the prime concerns. Quantum cryptography, to be precise, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), offers the promise of unconditional security. In this paper, we extend our previous research work of how QKD can be used in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks to ensure secure key distribution. Our contributions in this paper are as follows: (1) We discussed how QKD can be used in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks to securely distribute the keys. (2) We use new protocol QKD. (3) We introduced a method that take the advantage of mutual authentication features offered by some EAP variants of 802.1X Port-Based Network Access Control. (4) Finally, we present a new code called Quantum Message Integrity Code (Q-MIC) which provides mutual authentication between the two communication parties. Also experimental results are presented with Simulink Model.

Wireless communication provides users many benefits such as portability, flexibility, reduced hardware need and lower installation costs. Wireless local area networks (WLANs) for example allow users the ability to carry their laptops from place to place without any physical wires and without losing network connectivity.However, some amount of security risk is always associated with wireless networks. The most significant security risk for wireless technology is the potential outsiders have in gaining access to the communications medium, the communications medium being the air waves. Though WLANs provide the users with the option of roaming, this convenience is facilitated by broadcasting packets to anyone with compatible equipment within range of a transmitting device. This broadcasting of packets induces a compromise between convenience and security. Having an unsecured WLAN can result in a loss of service, or can be used as a staging area to launch attacks against other networks. The significant challenges faced today in securing wireless LANs are maintaining privacy, data confidentiality, and preventing unauthorized access using proper access control mechanisms.As wireless networking and security become more prevalent in the market, more and more computer science programs are incorporating courses in wireless networks or at the least, devoting a significant percentage of the advanced networking courses to wireless topics. As a result, in addition to industry practitioners, there is a growing interest among university researchers and faculty regarding tools used in monitoring and assessing security threats for wireless networks.This paper will demonstrate and evaluate a free and open source software tool, called Network Stumbler, used for monitoring and assessing security threats for wireless networks. Network Stumbler is a Windows-based tool that allows you to detect Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) using 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g. It has many uses:• Verifies that your network is set up the way you intended.• Find locations with poor coverage in your WLAN.• Detects other networks that may be causing interference on your network.• Detects unauthorized rogue access points in your workplace.• Helps aim directional antennas for long-haul WLAN links.• Can be used recreationally for WarDriving.

Recent demands on affordable, portable wireless communication and computation devices have resulted in exponential growth of wireless networks ranging from Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) and Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN) to Ad-Hoc and Sensor networks. The major goal of wireless communication is to allow users to communicate together and to have access to global network anytime anywhere. This has led to wide acceptance of infrastructure based cellular networks (WWANs) where mobile stations communicate with a centralized controller, often referred as Access Point (AP) that is connected to the wired networks. On the other hand, WLANs have appeared as dominant popular technologies in many venues including a local area such as an academic campus or an airport terminal. These wireless networks mostly rely on IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) technology and its various derived versions (i.e. 802.11a,b,g). IEEE 802.11 standard supports two operational modes: The infrastructure-based Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and an infrastructure-less Ad-Hoc Networks. A WLAN (Conti, 2003) typically imposes the existence of an AP and normally is connected to the wired networks to provide internet access for mobile devices. Obviously, only one hop link is needed to communicate between mobile devices and AP. In contrast, there is no AP or infrastructure in Ad-Hoc networks. Any two stations can communicate directly when they are in the range of reception of each other. To this end, the stations may use multi-hop routing to deliver their packets to destinations. The ad-hoc protocols (Conti, 2003; Mohapatra & Krishnamurthy, 2005) are self-configured for address and routing in the face of mobility and the network topology may change in each configuration. The multi-hop wireless ad-hoc networks, or multi-hop wireless networks enable wireless networking in the environments where the wired or cellular connections are impossible, inadequate, or cost effective (e.g. battle field, disaster recovery, etc.). The popularity of internet over the last decades has resulted in rapid advancement of demanding applications. The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (Stevens, 1994) is a well-known de facto protocol in developing today’s internet. Basically, TCP provides a connection-oriented and reliable end-to-end data delivery between two hosts in traditional wired networks. Since TCP is well tuned and due to its wide acceptance in internet, it is desirable to extend and adopt its functionality to wireless networks. On the

Wireless networks and communications are becoming an integrated part of people’s everyday work and life. Mainly due to the nature of unconfined signal transmitted in air and relatively limited computation power and battery resources, designing and implementing security mechanisms in wireless networks is much more challenging than in wired environments. This chapter provides an overview of the applications, technologies, and standards of secure wireless networks and communications. As each type of wireless networks has its own characteristics and supports different applications, the technical details of security goals, technologies, and standards are elaborated in each of the following chapters.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is an alternative in overcoming cabling problems in a local network. Often wireless network security that is installed still uses vendor default settings such as SSID, IP Address, remote management, DHCP enabled, frequency channels, without encryption, even user or password for wireless administration. How does a strong WLAN security system work? The most common security system applied to wireless networks at this time is starting from securing access points by applying the MAC Filtering concept, using WPA / WPA2-PSK security keys, and RADIUS server authentication. To see the quality of wireless LAN network security, how do you analyze the test of the existing security system in the network. The method that can be used in evaluating wireless networks is by testing the system by simulating forms of attacks on wireless networks with the Penetration Testing method. By carrying out 4 stages of research using the penetration testing method (i) the planning stage, (ii) the discovery stage, (iii) the attack stage and (iv) the report stage, from the attack stage (Cracking The Encryption, Bypassing MAC Address, Attacking The Infrastructure and MITM ) using Kali Linux got the results of four types of attacks carried out, only one of which was failed, namely the cracking attack type of the encryption on the RADIUS server due to using captive portal authentication

Wireless communication is one of the fastest growing industry segments today. Many types of wireless networks are now being used for applications such as personal communication, entertainment, rural and urban healthcare, smart home building, inventory control, and surveillance. This book introduces the basic concepts of wireless networks and mobile computing to give engineering students at the undergraduate/graduate level a solid background in the field. It also looks at the latest research and challenging problems in the field to serve as a reference for advanced-level researchers. Wireless Networks and Mobile Computing begins with an introduction to the different types of wireless networks, including Wi-Fi, ZigBee, cellular mobile, ad hoc, cognitive radio, wireless mesh, and wireless sensor. Subsequent chapters address more advanced topics such as: Mobility, bandwidth, and node location management issues in mobile networks Message communication techniques and protocols in ad hoc networks Recent research and future direction of wireless local area networks (WLANs) Deployment of sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) Energy-efficient communication in wireless networks Security aspects of wireless communication The book includes exercises at the end of every chapter to help give students a better insight into the topics presented. It includes a number of advanced-level exercises, which are research problems that may be taken up by researchers in the respective areas. This book provides a valuable reference for classroom study/teaching as well as for technology development and research in the relevant areas.

With the increasing popularity of the wireless network, the security issue for mobile users could be even more serious than it can be expected. Here it is need to search for new architecture and mechanisms to protect the wireless networks and mobile computing application. This paper focuses on intrusion detection and security consideration in wireless local area networks (WLANs) and also presents intrusion detection for WLANs, which gives a wireless intrusion detection system and its architecture consideration. A wireless IDS is similar to a standard, wired IDS, but has additional deployment requirements as well as some unique features specific to WLAN intrusion and misuse detection. Meanwhile, we discuss some issues with wireless networks and Intrusion detection solution to wireless networks.

Wireless networks have a key role in operational deployment, mobility, the flexibility of network organization and the variety of possible applications, in many cases being the only economically justified solution. Based on the above, for the deployment of wireless networks, the correct theoretical design of the wireless network is an important issue: the required number of devices, their characteristics, placement, energy characteristics of channels, distribution routes and coverage areas, etc. Correct theoretical analysis will ensure error-free construction of the network for the successful implementation of the tasks and will not lead to the need to attract additional material costs. One of the key tasks of wireless communication construction is a reliable assessment of the energy characteristics of a wireless communication channel. Modern global manufacturers of telecommunications equipment build both backbone equipment and equipment to cover WLAN (wireless local area networks) areas, based on IEEE 802.11 standards. One of the most modern standards of the IEEE 802.11 group is the IEEE 802.11ac standard, which is characterized by several improved technical characteristics compared to its predecessor IEEE 802.11n and older versions. That is why the task of evaluating the performance of modern wireless communication equipment based on IEEE 802.11ac standards and analyzing the evaluation of the energy characteristics of the communication channel to predict the parameters and performance characteristics of a point-to-point, point-to-multipoint or other wireless transmission systems within a certain wireless communication network. The following results of solving this problem are presented in this paper: – theoretical evaluation of the energy characteristics of the wireless communication channel. – laboratory studies of wireless communication equipment of the 802.11ac standard based on simulating a communication line using attenuators. – verification of the results of laboratory studies in field conditions based on the model for assessing the quality of communication in a wireless channel created based on the 802.11ac standard.

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs) are two of the main technologies in wireless data networks. WLANs have a short range and aim at providing connectivity to end users. On the other hand, WMANs have a long range and aim at serving as a backbone network and also at serving end users. In this dissertation, we consider the problem of Medium Access Control (MAC) in WLANs and the placement of Relay Stations (RSs) in WMANs. We propose a MAC scheme for WLANs in which stations contend by using jams on the channel. We present analytic and simulation results to find the optimal parameters of the scheme and measure its performance. Our scheme has a low collision rate and delay and a high throughput and fairness performance. Secondly, we present a MAC scheme for the latest generation of WLANs which have very high data rates. In this scheme, we divide the stations into groups and only one station from each group contends to the channel. We also use frame aggregation to reduce the overhead. We present analytic and simulation results which show that our scheme provides a small collision rate and, hence, achieves a high throughput. The results also show that our scheme provides a delay performance that is suitable for real-time applications and also has a high level of fairness. Finally, we consider the problem of placing Relay Stations (RSs) in WMANs. We consider the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) technology. The RSs are used to increase the capacity of the network and to extend its range. We present an optimization formulation that places RSs in the WiMAX network to serve a number of customers with a pre-defined bit rate. Our solution also provides fault-tolerance by allowing one RS to fail at a given time so that the performance to the users remains at a predictable level. The goal of our solution is to meet the demands of the users, provide fault-tolerance and minimize the number of RSs used.

In the rapidly growing domain of wireless communication, data security has emerged as a critical requirement, especially in resource-constrained embedded systems. This paper proposes a secure wireless communication system based on ZigBee technology and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), implemented using Arduino microcontrollers. The system comprises a transmitter that accepts data via a keyboard, encrypts it using AES-128, and transmits it wirelessly via ZigBee. The receiver decrypts the data and displays it on an LCD. Leveraging ZigBee’s low-power and low-data-rate characteristics, the design ensures secure, efficient, and scalable communication suitable for applications such as home automation, military systems, and industrial control. The integration of AES encryption ensures end-to-end data confidentiality without significantly impacting transmission speed or energy consumption. Performance evaluation confirms the system’s viability for Internet of Things (IoT) applications demanding both security and efficiency. Keywords: Wireless Communication, ZigBee Protocol, AES-128 Encryption, Arduino Microcontroller, Secure Data Transmission, End-to-End Encryption.

An adaptive bluetooth packet selection and scheduling scheme in interference environments

<sec>Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a pivotal technology in the field of secure communication by using the principles of quantum mechanics to implement theoretically unbreakable encryption. However, QKD faces significant challenges in achieving large-scale deployment. The primary hurdle lies in the scarcity of quantum resources, especially entangled photon pairs, which are fundamental to protocols such as Ekert91. In traditional QKD implementations, only a small potion of the generated entanglement pairs contribute to generating the original key, resulting in lower efficiency and resource waste. Resolving this limitation is crucial to the advancement and scalability of QKD networks.</sec><sec>This paper introduces an innovative approach to QKD by integrating the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA), a technique which is originally developed for many-body quantum systems. By utilizing MERA’s hierarchical structure, the proposed method not only improves the efficiency of entanglement distribution but also reduces the consumption of quantum resources. Specifically, MERA compresses many-body quantum states into lower-dimensional representations, allowing for the transmission and storage of entanglement in a more efficient manner. This compression significantly reduces the number of qubits required, optimizing both entanglement utilization and storage capacity in quantum networks.</sec><sec>To evaluate the performance of this method, we conduct simulations under standardized conditions. In the simulation, a 1024-bit encryption request, an 8% error rate, an average path length of 4 hops in the quantum network, and a 95% success rate for link entanglement generation and entanglement swapping operations are assumed. These parameters reflect the real physical conditions in contemporary QKD networks. The results demonstrate that compared with traditional QKD protocols, the MERA-based approach saves 124151 entangled pairs, which is impressive. This significant reduction in resource consumption indicates the potential application of MERA in improving the efficiency of QKD systems without sacrificing security. Importantly, the security of the key exchange process remains intact, for the method inherently adheres to the principles of quantum mechanics, particularly the no-cloning theorem and the use of randomness in the decompression layer.</sec><sec>Some conclusions can be drawn below. The MERA not only enhances the scalability of QKD by optimizing quantum resource allocation, but also maintains the necessary security guarantees for practical cryptographic applications. By integrating MERA into existing QKD frameworks, we can significantly reduce the resource overhead and make large-scale, secure quantum communication more feasible. These findings contribute a new dimension to the field of quantum cryptography, indicating that advanced quantum many-body techniques like MERA have the potential to unlock the full potential of quantum networks in real world.</sec>

Recent advancements in reactor designs could offer new revolutionary capabilities, including remote monitoring, increased flexibility, and reduced operation and maintenance costs. Embracing new digital technologies would allow for operational concepts such as semiautonomous or near-autonomous control, and two-way communications for real-time integration with the upcoming smart electric grid. However, such continuous data transmission from and toward a reactor site could potentially introduce new challenges and vulnerabilities, necessitating the prioritization of cybersecurity. Conventional information technology–based encryption schemes, which rely mostly on computational complexity, have been shown to be vulnerable to cyberattacks. With the advent of quantum computing, practically any asymmetric encryption could be potentially compromised. For example, it has been shown that a RSA-2048 bit key could be broken in 8 h. To address this challenge, we explore the feasibility of quantum key distribution (QKD) to secure communications. QKD is a physical layer security scheme relying on the laws of quantum mechanics instead of mathematical complexity. QKD promises not only unconditional security but also detection of potential intrusion, as it allows the communication parties to become aware of eavesdropping. To test the proposed hypothesis, a novel simulation tool (NuQKD) was developed to allow for real-time simulation of the BB84 QKD protocol between two remote terminals. A reference scenario is proposed, generic enough to cover various internal and external communication links to a reactor site. Using NuQKD, the internal and external data links were modeled, and receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for various QKD configurations. A performance analysis was conducted, demonstrating that QKD can provide adequate secret key rates with low false alarms and has the potential of addressing the nuclear industry’s high standards of confidentiality for distance lengths up to 75 km of fiberoptics. Using a conservative estimation, QKD can provide up to 21.5 kbps of secret key rate for a distance of 1 km and 14.4 kbps at 10 km. The target secret key rates for the corresponding links were estimated at 16 kbps and 80 bps, respectively, based on the analysis of real data from a PUR-1 fully digital reactor. Consequently, QKD is shown to be compatible with existing and future point-to-point reactor communication architectures. These results motivate further study of quantum communications for nuclear reactors.

It is the fact that wireless networks have become one of the most widely used communication systems in the world due to the wireless network’s natures. However, at the same time providing secure communication for wireless networks has become one of the prime concerns. There are many ways to improve security issues, one of them, titled quantum cryptography, namely quantum key distribution (QKD), offers the promise of unconditional security. It is well known that traditional QKD can work well in the traditional networks because of the full optical system will meet the requirement of photon communication, which becomes serious problem in wireless communication system, as in free space photon transmission is the difficulty in providing line-of-sight (LOS) between the transmitter and the receiver for long distances. In this paper, we are going to focus on two dimensional (2D) fuzzy dynamic switching between the transmitter and the receiver for reasonable long distances. The research results show fuzzy dynamic switching has potential capability to carry on this project and the future papers will follow for 3D cases.

The increasing demand for the coverage of high‐speed wireless local area networks (WLANs) is driving the installation of a very large number of access points (APs). Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have emerged as a promising technology in the next generation networks to provide economical and scalable broadband access to wireless interconnection of multiple APs that manage individual WLANs in order to extend the coverage of the conventional single WLANs. In this paper, we develop a new analytical model to investigate the quality‐of‐service (QoS) performance metrics in WMNs interconnecting multiple WLANs. The model takes the phenomenon of communication locality into consideration. Extensive simulation experiments are conducted to validate the accuracy of the analytical model. The proposed model is then used to obtain the maximum achievable throughput, which is a key performance metrics in wireless networks. Moreover, we utilize the model to evaluate the impact of communication locality on network performance and investigate its effects on the optimization of integrated WLANs and multi‐hop mesh networks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.