Tag Archives: video

Proximity detection with single-antenna IoT devices

Posted on by
Reply

ACM SIGMOBILE has posted a video of our presentation of the THaW paper Proximity detection with single-antenna IoT devices at MobiCom’19.  Abstract below the video.

Timothy J. Pierson, Travis Peters, Ronald Peterson, and David Kotz. Proximity Detection with Single-Antenna IoT Devices. In Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (MobiCom), Article #21, October 2019. ACM Press. DOI 10.1145/3300061.3300120.

Abstract: Providing secure communications between wireless devices that encounter each other on an ad-hoc basis is a challenge that has not yet been fully addressed. In these cases, close physical proximity among devices that have never shared a secret key is sometimes used as a basis of trust; devices in close proximity are deemed trustworthy while more distant devices are viewed as potential adversaries. Because radio waves are invisible, however, a user may believe a wireless device is communicating with a nearby device when in fact the user’s device is communicating with a distant adversary. Researchers have previously proposed methods for multi-antenna devices to ascertain physical proximity with other devices, but devices with a single antenna, such as those commonly used in the Internet of Things, cannot take advantage of these techniques.

We present theoretical and practical evaluation of a method called SNAP – SiNgle Antenna Proximity – that allows a single-antenna Wi-Fi device to quickly determine proximity with another Wi-Fi device. Our proximity detection technique leverages the repeating nature Wi-Fi’s preamble and the behavior of a signal in a transmitting antenna’s near-field region to detect proximity with high probability; SNAP never falsely declares proximity at ranges longer than 14 cm.

Securing the life-cycle of Smart Environments (video)

Posted on by
Reply

This one-hour talk by David Kotz was presented at ARM Research in Austin, TX at the end of January 2019.  The first half covers some recent THaW research about Wanda and SNAP and the second half lays out some security challenges in the Internet of Things.  Watch the video below.

Abstract: The homes, offices, and vehicles of tomorrow will be embedded with numerous “Smart Things,” networked with each other and with the Internet. Many of these Things interact with their environment, with other devices, and with human users – and yet most of their communications occur invisibly via wireless networks.  How can users express their intent about which devices should communicate – especially in situations when those devices have never encountered each other before?   We present our work exploring novel combinations of physical proximity and user interaction to ensure user intent in establishing and securing device interactions. 

What happens when an occupant moves out or transfers ownership of her Smart Environment?  How does an occupant identify and decommission all the Things in an environment before she moves out?  How does a new occupant discover, identify, validate, and configure all the Things in the environment he adopts?  When a person moves from smart home to smart office to smart hotel, how is a new environment vetted for safety and security, how are personal settings migrated, and how are they securely deleted on departure?  When the original vendor of a Thing (or the service behind it) disappears, how can that Thing (and its data, and its configuration) be transferred to a new service provider?  What interface can enable lay people to manage these complex challenges, and be assured of their privacy, security, and safety?   We present a list of key research questions to address these important challenges.

Interview with Scott Breece – CISO, Community Health Systems

Posted on by
Reply

Scott Breece, VP and CISO of Community Health Systems, discusses the rising security threat in healthcare with M. Eric Johnson, Dean of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Scott highlights how health IT is transforming healthcare, improving the patient experience and outcomes. However, digitization of healthcare data also creates new risks for the healthcare system. Scott discusses how Community Health Systems is staying ahead of those threats and securing patient data. This video was partially supported by the THaW project, which is co-led by Eric Johnson.

THaW’s Eric Johnson Meets With Talvis Love

Posted on by
Reply

As part of THaW’s efforts to discuss the state of security in the health care industry, Eric Johnson continues to meet with prominent Information Security Officers to discuss the current challenges in the industry. This time, Eric met with Cardinal Health’s Talvis Love to discuss a variety of topics, including the intricacies of a the migration to the cloud for data storage and retrieval. Click above to watch the discussion in full.

Eric Johnson Talks with Charles Lebo: Healthcare Data Security

Posted on by
Reply


THaW contributor Eric Johnson’s conversations from the CISO conference continued with VP and CISO of Kindred Healthcare, Charles Lebo. The two had a conversation to discuss some of the emerging challenges of healthcare security. The topics ranged from the scope of large healthcare datasets, to the emergence of ransomware and maintaining data security.

Click here, or play the embedded video above, to hear the discussion in full.

New York Times Features THaW Research Into Acoustic Device Hacking

Posted on by
Reply

14SOUNDWAVE1-master768

THaW researcher Kevin Fu’s work on acoustic device hacking has recently been featured in the New York Times. The article discusses the team’s work on using acoustic signals to fool sensors in mobile device, and create the potential for security violations. For more information beyond the article, click here for a quick video, or read the complete paper below.

WALNUT: Waging Doubt on the Integrity of MEMS Accelerometers with Acoustic Injection Attacks

Eric Johnson talks with Paul Connelly: Healthcare Analytics and Information Security

Posted on by
Reply

THaW contributor Eric Johnson recently sat down with VP and CISO of Hospital Corporation of America Paul Connelly to discuss advancements in healthcare analytics and information security. Over the course of the discussion the two touch on the sheer volume of data created by HCA, and how analytics can be used to give that data value in contributing to informed decision making, while at the same time protecting patient security.

Click here, or play the embedded video above, to hear the discussion in full.

Wanda – Securely introducing mobile devices

Posted on by
2

A few months ago we announced the results of our Wanda project, as published in INFOCOM 2016.  Today we’re excited to share this new video description of the project! Thanks to Abby Starr and Shiyao Peng of Dartmouth’s DALI lab, and Tim Pierson of the THaW team, for this fun and informative production.

Nearly every setting is increasingly populated with wireless and mobile devices – whether appliances in a home, medical devices in a health clinic, sensors in an industrial setting, or devices in an office or school. There are three fundamental operations when bringing a new device into any of these settings: (1) to configure the device to join the wireless local-area network, (2) to partner the device with other nearby devices so they can work together, and (3) to configure the device so it connects to the relevant individual or organizational account in the cloud. The challenge is to accomplish all three goals simply, securely, and consistent with user intent. We call our approach Wanda – a `magic wand’ that accomplishes all three of the above goals – and evaluate a prototype implementation.