Technology

IN BRIEF:

IN DETAIL:

Endpoint receives information from devices as uniquely characterized signals that no other devices can replicate. There's nothing for a hacker to "break;" no passwords, no encryption schemes. By measuring signal features that occur naturally, Endpoint can collect “fingerprints” from devices to later authenticate them. This is done through polarization.

Polarization mode dispersion is very important in radio communications and is often considered to be an obstacle to overcome. For instance, when a wireless signal is traveling from a transmitter in a thermostat to a router, as depicted in the drawing, it bounces off of many objects along the way. Each time it bounces, there is a slight twist in polarization, which is what is called polarization mode dispersion. Most commercial communications devices attempt to eliminate polarization mode dispersion, but Endpoint knows how to employ it to the benefit of securing the communications path.

We discovered that the polarization mode dispersion creates a stable fingerprint as multiple signal paths twist the polarization. Signatures are unique to each device and impossible to predict in any way known today. Using this concept, we can build receivers that can uniquely identify signals as belonging to a particular device. This foundational premise allows us to build an efficient and effective layer of security into the hardware of wireless access points.

This is a 45 minute introductory course in the use of polarization mode dispersion used for fingerprinting radio frequency signals for use in wireless cybersecurity. It will take you on a high-level, but technical, journey in how the technology works in securing wireless networks.

7 fingerprints are shown for repeating transmissions from 7 devices. These devices are all the same make an model and are located in the same small area (3m x 4m). The fingerprints are color-coded and plotted on the surface of a sphere.

FTC 2018: Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2018 pp 904-911

RF Biometric for Wireless Devices

Heller R.P., Pratt T.G., Loof J., Jesse E. (2019) RF Biometric for Wireless Devices. In: Arai K., Bhatia R., Kapoor S. (eds) Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2018. FTC 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 881. Springer, Cham

• First Online 20 October 2018

• DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02683-7_65

• Publisher Name Springer, Cham

• Print ISBN 978-3-030-02682-0

• Online ISBN 978-3-030-02683-7

• eBook Packages Intelligent Technologies and Robotics

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