Konstantinou Elisavet

Abstract:
Specification (or modeling) languages can be very handy in describing certain aspects of a system and check properties of interest about it. Also, once a model is constructed, one is able to use the associated analyzer to create examples and/or counterexamples to explore hypotheses posed about the system. In the context of cryptography this verification process is of great importance as it can contribute towards finding weaknesses and assessing system's robustness. This paper capitalizes on the well-known Alloy language to model and analyze attacks on DES triple modes namely ECB|ECB|CBC^-1 and ECB|OFB|OFB. We model attacks described in [9] and show that they can be fruitful in the general case. This work can serve as a framework in modeling similar cryptosystems and assessing certain attacks on them.

Abstract:
IEEE 802.16 technology also well known as WiMax is poised to deliver the next step in the wireless evolution. This is further fostered by the 802.16e specification which, amongst other things, introduces support for mobility. The Multicast/Broadcast Service (MBS) is also an integral part of 802.16e destined to deliver next generation services to subscribers. In this paper we concentrate on the Multicast and Broadcast Rekeying Algorithm (MBRA) of 802.16e. This algorithm has been recently criticized for various vulnerabilities and security inefficiencies, as its designers are trying to balance wisely between performance and security. After surveying related work, we extensively discuss MBRA security issues and propose the use of a novel asymmetric group key agreement protocol based on the work in Wu et al. (2009) [3]. Our scheme guarantees secure delivery of keys to all the members of a given group and mandates rekeying upon join and leave events. It can prevent insider attacks since only the Base Station possesses a secret encryption key while all other members in the network acquire the transmitted data by using their secret decryption keys. We compare our scheme with related work and demonstrate that although heavier in terms of computing costs, it compensates when scalability and security come to the foreground.

Abstract:
The adoption of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in the healthcare sector poses many security issues, mainly because medical information is considered particularly sensitive. The security mechanisms employed are expected to be more efficient in terms of energy consumption and scalability in order to cope with the constrained capabilities of WSNs and patients’ mobility. Towards this goal, cluster-based medical WSNs can substantially improve efficiency and scalability. In this context, we have proposed a general framework for cluster-based medical environments on top of which security mechanisms can rely. This framework fully covers the varying needs of both in-hospital environments and environments formed ad hoc for medical emergencies. In this paper, we further elaborate on the security of our proposed solution. We specifically focus on key establishment mechanisms and investigate the group key agreement protocols that can best fit in our framework.

Abstract:
The establishment of a public key infrastructure (PKI) in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is considered a difficult task because of the intrinsic characteristics of these networks. The absence of centralized services and the possible network partitions make traditional security solutions not straightforwardly applicable in MANETs. In this paper, we propose a public key management scheme based on a binary tree formation of the network¿s nodes. Using the binary tree structure, certificate chains are easily built between communicating nodes that are multi-hops away and the cumbersome problem of certificate chain discovery is avoided. We argue that our mechanism has several advantages over similar solutions, especially when a fair balancing between security and performance is terminus.

Abstract:
Wireless sensor networks are expected to make a significant contribution in the healthcare sector by enabling continuous patient monitoring. Since medical services and the associated to them information are considered particularly sensitive, the employment of wireless sensors in medical environments poses many security issues and challenges. However, security services and the underlying key management mechanisms cannot be seen separately from the efficiency and scalability requirements. Network clustering used in both routing and group key management mechanisms can improve the efficiency and scalability and therefore can also be envisioned in medical environments. This paper introduces a general framework for cluster-based wireless sensor medical environments on the top of which efficient security mechanisms can rely. We describe two different scenarios for infrastructure and infrastructure- less application environments, covering this way a wide area of medical applications (in-hospital and medical emergencies). We also examine the existing group-key management schemes for cluster-based wireless networks and discuss which protocols fit best for each proposed scenario.