Securing P2P wireless communications by deploying honeytokens in a cooperative maritime network

Abstract

As wireless devices become ubiquitous in society, proper security methodologies must be deployed that are cognizant of the physical limitations inherent in the device design in order to ensure that the information produced in these systems is not abused. One such area of abuse involves an attacker locating and disabling a wireless device that is transmitting a relatively large amount of data compared to the other devices in the same physical area; this large amount of transmitted data may indicate that the wireless device is important or valuable to the owner. In this work, we propose and test a novel design that mitigates this threat as related to P2P wireless communication systems that have battery life as a limiting constraint. Our solution uses specialized honeytoken devices that transmit realistic noise in order to mask the presence or absence of communication from the actual wireless devices. This will allow the wireless devices to only transmit when required, conserving battery life and adding to the security of the system by making it impossible to locate a highly active device. The honeytoken noise is easily removed by trusted insiders; however it can not easily be removed by attackers. The idea of deploying honeytoken devices to protect P2P devices with battery life constraints is a new approach, and our key contribution is the proposal, design, and testing of this system. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.