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An Investigation of Security Trends in Personal Wireless Networks

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Abstract

Wireless networks are an integral part of day-to-day life for many people, with businesses and home users relying on them for connectivity and communication. This paper examines the problems relating to the topic of wireless security and the background literature. Following this, primary research has been undertaken that focuses on the current trend of wireless security. Previous work is used to create a timeline of encryption usage and helps to exhibit the differences between 2009 and 2012. Moreover, a novel 802.11 denial-of-service device has been created to demonstrate the way in which it is possible to design a new threat based on current technologies and equipment that is freely available. The findings are then used to produce recommendations that present the most appropriate countermeasures to the threats found.

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Acknowledgments

The work reported in this paper has been supported by the Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for Ph.D. Studies, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China, RLTF e-learning Cloud Programme, National Natural Science Foundation of China Program (61202474 and 61272074), China 973 Fundamental R&D Program (2011CB302600) and Visiting Research Fellow Program of Tongji University.

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Correspondence to Lu Liu.

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Liu, L., Stimpson, T., Antonopoulos, N. et al. An Investigation of Security Trends in Personal Wireless Networks. Wireless Pers Commun 75, 1669–1687 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-013-1386-3

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