Title: Simulation framework for security threats in cognitive radio networks
Authors: Romero, E.; Mouradian, A.; Blesa, J.; Moya, J.M.; Araujo, A.
Published in: Communications, IET (Volume:6 , Issue: 8 ) page 984 – 990
ISSN : 1751-8628
Date of Publication: May 22 2012
Digital Object Identifier : 10.1049/iet-com.2010.0582
Web: http://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-com.2010.0582
Pdf: pdf
Along with the development of cognitive radio networks, designing optimistic security mechanisms is becoming a big challenge. This study proposes a taxonomy of attacks on cognitive radio networks. This will help researches to better understand the security problems and to design more optimistic countermeasures. A new simulation framework for security threats has been developed to check all these attacks and countermeasures. The simulation framework has been tested with a primary user emulation attack. A new testbed for simulations suitable for cognitive radio security is ready.
Synopsis: ONE of the fastest growing sectors in recent years has undoubtedly been that of WSNs. WSNs are increasingly being introduced into our daily lives. Potential fields of applications can be found, ranging from the military to home control commercially or industrially, to name a few. The increasing demand for wireless communication presents a challenge to make efficient use of the spectrum. To address this challenge, Cognitive Radio (CR) has emerged as the key technology. The nature of large, dynamic, adaptive, Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks presents significant challenges in designing security schemes. A cognitive wireless sensor network is a special network that has many constraints and many different features compared to traditional WSNs. While security challenges have been widely tackled in traditional networks, it is a novel area in Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks. The goal of this thesis is to improve the security in CWSN taking advantage of the new cogntive feature such as spectrum sensing, learning and collaboration.
The objective of this project is the development of a simulator of Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks. This simulator must support Cognitive Radio techniques adapted to wireless sensor networks. These techniques are: spectrum sensing, collaboration and learning, among others.
A couple weeks ago, our lab member Alba Rozas Cid defended her PhD thesis entitled “Cross-layer Strategies for Improving the Quality of Service of Wireless Sensor Networks”. This PhD work was carried out at B105 Electronic Systems Lab under the direction of Professor Alvaro Araujo.
The thesis defense took place at the ETSI Telecomunicación in Madrid, and three members of the examination panel were physically present. However, due to travel restrictions, the other two members attended the act online from France and the USA, respectively. The work was evaluated positively earning the highest possible grade, along with the “cum laude” and international mentions. Learn and see how fire barriers’ role in preserving the environment here and how you can protect yourself in advance.
The following are some links where parts of this PhD research are explained or published:
And, finally, this is the list of peer-reviewed journal and conference publications that were obtained during the course of this PhD:
International journal articles:
A. Rozas, A. Araujo, and J. M. Rabaey, “Analyzing the Performance of WBAN Links during Physical Activity Using Real Multi-Band Sensor Nodes,” Applied Sciences, vol. 11, no. 7, p. 2920, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.3390/app11072920.
A. Rozas and A. Araujo, “An Application-Aware Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks to Provide QoS Management,” Journal of Sensors, vol. 2019, pp. 1–11, Sep. 2019, doi: 10.1155/2019/8569326.
R. Utrilla, R. Rodriguez-Zurrunero, J. Martin, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “MIGOU: A Low-Power Experimental Platform with Programmable Logic Resources and Software-Defined Radio Capabilities,” Sensors, vol. 19, no. 22, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.3390/s19224983.
F. Tirado-Andrés, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “A Methodology for Choosing Time Synchronization Strategies for Wireless IoT Networks,” Sensors, vol. 19, no. 16, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.3390/s19163476.
R. Rodriguez-Zurrunero, R. Utrilla, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “Process Management in IoT Operating Systems: Cross-Influence between Processing and Communication Tasks in End-Devices,” Sensors, vol. 19, no. 4, Feb. 2019, doi: 10.3390/s19040805.
E. Romero, J. Blesa, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “Energy Efficiency Strategy in D2D Cognitive Networks Using Channel Selection Based on Game Theory and Collaboration,” International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, vol. 12, no. 8, Aug. 2016, doi: 10.1177/155014772834652.
J. Martin, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “A WSN-Based Intrusion Alarm System to Improve Safety in Road Work Zones,” Journal of Sensors, vol. 2016, pp. 1–8, Jun. 2016, doi: 10.1155/2016/7048141.
A. Molina-Pico, D. Cuesta-Frau, A. Araujo, J. Alejandre, and A. Rozas, “Forest Monitoring and Wildland Early Fire Detection by a Hierarchical Wireless Sensor Network,” Journal of Sensors, vol. 2016, pp. 1–8, Feb. 2016, doi: 10.1155/2016/8325845.
J. Blesa, E. Romero, A. Rozas, and A. Araujo, “PUE attack detection in CWSNs using anomaly detection techniques,” EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, vol. 2013, no. 1, p. 215, Aug. 2013, doi: 10.1186/1687-1499-2013-215.
J. Blesa, E. Romero, A. Rozas, A. Araujo, and O. Nieto-Taladriz, “PUE Attack Detection in CWSN Using Collaboration and Learning Behavior,” International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, vol. 9, no. 6, Jun. 2013, doi: 10.1155/2013/815959.
International conference proceedings:
A. Rozas, J. Blesa, E. Romero, and A. Araujo, “Controlling the degradation of Wireless Sensor Networks,” in 2015 International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), Aug. 2015, pp. 1217–1223, doi: 10.1109/IWCMC.2015.7289256.
R. Utrilla, A. Rozas, J. Blesa, and A. Araujo, “A Hybrid Approach to Enhance Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks with Energy-Efficient Software-Defined Radio Capabilities,” in 2017 International Conference on Embedded Wireless Systems and Networks (EWSN), Feb. 2017, pp. 294–299. [Online]. Available: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3108009.3108086.
This work is part of the ROBIM project in which the working group B105 Electronic Systems Lab of the University UniversidadPolitécnica de Madrid collaborates. The ROBIM project takes part in the program Programa Estratégico CIEN with the support of the CDTI (Centro para el desarrollo tecnológico Industrial) and the RDF (Regional Development Forum) for Europe.
The ROBIM project seeks to automate technical inspections of buildings, reducing costs and execution times associated with these processes. The system makes use of a drone for inspection work, thus avoiding the installation of scaffolding and all the security measures that the process requires, which is costly in time and money. Currently, the drone has a communication channel that allows users to obtain information on the process, as well as direct the drone whenever necessary. The main objective of this work is to create a secondary, safe and effective communication channel, for situations where communication with the main system is not possible. To achieve this, the project stablish the following requierements:
– The device must allow radiocommunication in ISM bands. – The device has an USB interface to connect with the computer/drone. – The communication must be reliable by allowing communication throwgh various channels and implementing software-defined radio and cognitive radio.
Therefore, to achieve these objectives, this work proposes the design of a 2-channel device for radiocommunication in the 433 MHz and 868 MHz bands, using two SPIRIT1 transceivers and an ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller.
Picture of the device’s high-level design
The Hardware design has been made usign the Altium Designer PCB design layout tool . The designed PCB is divided into three parts: the power/communication stage, the control stage with the microcontroller and the radiofrecuency stage with both SPIRIT1 trasnceivers.
Picture of the 3D reconstruction of the board designed in Altium Design tool
The software design has been developed in 2 stages: software design of an application for evaluation boards during the PCB manufacturating process and software design of a final application for the designed PCB. For the software design of evaluation board, the NUCLEO – L053R8 with the X-NUCLEO-IDS01A4 radio frequency module has been chosen, which allows radio communication in the 868 MHz band. The final design of the software is based on the software of the evaluation board but improving its functionality by adding communication through two channels with a cognitive procedure based on the CSMA / CA protocol and implementing serial communication with the user.
The application designed for the device allows, then, a cognitive communication based on CSMA/CA protocol in bands 433 MHz and 868 MHz in addition to communication with the user and the drone enabling the possibility of the implementation of the second channel for the communication with the drone.
