Wireless Technologies Stationary Wireless Applications

Questions: 1.Compare and contrast three data encryption standards for WiMAX networks?2.Research the security challenges for any two examples of WPAN technologies. Answers: 1. WiMAX is a developing wireless technology based on IEEE 802.16 standard (Alzaabi1, Ranjeeth Alukaidey Salman 2013). WiMAX has been designed to work with mobile, immobile or stationary wireless applications (TechTarget, 2010).Security is particularly critical in wireless networks such as WiMAX (Alzaabi1 et al., 2013). Security mechanisms in WiMAX are defined in IEEE 802.16e (Alzaabi1 et al., 2013).One of the mechanism used to secure data in WiMAX is data encryption. Data encryption is the process of converting a message into a scrambled structure for security purposes (Forouzan, 2013).AES, 3DES and RSA are some of the data encryption mechanism used in WiMAX networks. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a new encryption standard commended by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. AES procedures works with 128 bits and can use keys with lengths of either 128, 192, or 256 bits. For 128 bits the process takes 10 rounds, for 192 bits it takes 12 rounds and 256 bits takes 14 rounds to decrypt a message (Youssouf, Othman, Siraj Nkiama, 2016). 3DES stands for Triple Data Encryption Standard. It was designed to look into weaknesses in Data Encryption Standard (DES).DES uses a 56-bit key and is not adequate enough in offering enough security.3DES lengthens the key size of DES by implementing thrice(56*3) making it longer and more secure. The RSA encryption standard is named after Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman the people behind its development in 1978(Rani1, Anil Chawla, 2011a).RSA standard is based on a public-key cryptography and is fit for authentication and encryption. RSA adopts three steps including generating keys, encryption and decryption (Rani1, Anil Chawla, 2011b). Some similarities in AES, 3DES and RSA include Keys are based on mathematical characteristics After a period of time, key strength decrease Faster computation time, if the algorithm has many Table 1 below compares encryption mechanism used in WiMAX in terms of their key length, cipher type, block size, encryption speed and level of security. FACTORS AES 3DES RSA Key length 128bits 168 bits(n1,n2,and n3) 112 bits(n1 and n2) Dependant on the number of bits Cipher Type Symmetric code Symmetric code Asymmetric code Block size (bits) 128bits 64bits variable Encryption Speed fast Very slow slowest Level of Security Excellent security Adequate security Least secure Table 1: Comparison of AES, 3DES and RSA (Gurpreet Supriya 2013) 2. WPAN stands for Wireless Personal Area Network. WPAN is designed to cover short-distances and supports mobile computing devices including mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),barcode readers, sensors, printers, desktop computers and handheld computers.( Mallick, 2008).Some examples of WPAN technologies include: Blue Tooth Bluetooth is a technology designed to connect both mobile and immobile electronic devices. It covers between thirty feet or ten meters. Devices including cell phones, PDAs, desktop computers and other portable devices can connect together without cable (Niem, 2002a). Figure 1 below shows a simple illustration of Bluetooth WPAN technology. Figure 1: Blue tooth WPAN (Niem, 2002b) Some security challenges in blue tooth technology include: Blue bugging is a process whereby intruders remotely gain unauthorized access to cell phones and manipulate its features without the owner realizing whats happening. This usually results in depletion of phone resources and make phone bills expensive for the user (Jennings, 2016a). Denial of Service (DoS) attacks - A DoS is an attack that holds system resources and blocks optimal user access. Attackers can intrude devices connected with Bluetooth and drain their system resources (Jennings, 2016b). ZigBee ZigBee is a developing standard for devices that use low-power (Dini Tiloca, n.d.). It allows control of remote devices and sensor applications especially in isolated locations (Radio Electronics, n.d.). Applications implementing this technology comprise of electrical meter systems, wireless switches, some traffic systems, and other wireless components (Wikipedia, 2016). ZigBee security challenges Difficult to achieve procedures including encryption, key management, and key exchange since they use a lot of power. System vulnerabilities due to low power consumption It is possible to access if no proper protection measures Firmware can be accessed and analyze and manipulated including cryptographic keys, digital certificates and application particulars making the standard a vulnerability References Alzaabi1, M., Ranjeeth, R, D., Alukaidey, T Salman,K. (2013). Security algorithms for WiMAX. International Journal of Network Security Its Applications (IJNSA), Vol.5, No.3, May 2013 Bhanot, R Hans, R. (2015). A Review and Comparative Analysis of Various Encryption Algorithms. International Journal of Security and Its Applications Vol. 9, No. 4 (2015), pp. 289-306 https://dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijsia.2015.9.4.27 Dini,G. Tiloca,M.(n.d). Considerations on Security in ZigBee Networks Forouzan, B, A. (2013) Data Communications and Networking, 5th Edition, McGraw-HilI Jennings, R. (2016), A Review of Bluetooth Attacks. Retrieved from https://www.webroot.com Mallick, M. (2008). Mobile and Wireless Design Essentials. Retrieved from www. https://etutorials.org/ Niem, T. (2002). Bluetooth And Its Inherent Security Issues. Retrieved from www. https://www.sans.org Radio Electronics. (n.d).Retrieved from https://www.radio-electronics.com/info/wireless/zigbee/zigbee.php Rani1,M., Anil, R Chawla, R(2011).Review of public key cryptography on WiMAX using RSA algorithm. E-ISSN0976-7916. JERS/Vol. II/ Issue IV/October-December, 2011/219-222 Singh, G Supriya.(2013). A Study of Encryption Algorithms (RSA, DES, 3DES and AES) for Information Security. International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887) Volume 67 No.19, April 2013 Stalling,W.(n.d).Cryptography and Network Security chapter-9. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA Tech Target (2010).WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Retrieved from https://searchtelecom.techtarget.com/ Wikipedia. (2016).Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZigBee Youssouf, M., Othman, S., Siraj, M Nkiama, H (2016). Comparative Study of AES, Blowfish, CAST-128 and DES Encryption Algorithm. IOSR Journal of Engineering (IOSRJEN) www.iosrjen.org ISSN (e): 2250-3021, ISSN (p): 2278-8719 Vol. 06, Issue 06 (June. 2016), ||V1|| PP 01-07