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Date:  Wed, July 26, 2023
Time:  10:30am - 11:30am
Location:  Holmes Hall 389; online available, check your email or contact us
Speaker:  Dr. Yanjun Pan, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas

Abstract

Wireless networks provide easier, faster, and more flexible communications and play a key role in our modern lives. However, the broadcast nature of the wireless medium poses numerous security challenges, ranging from defending against passive attacks like eavesdropping to protecting message integrity against strong active attacks capable of modifying over-the-air transmissions. Traditionally, the first step toward secure communications is to establish security associations, which usually involves deriving a shared cryptographic key or password between intended devices. However, this method relies either on the manual input of a password or preloading devices with some default secret. The default secret adopted by manufacturers is usually simple and can be easily leaked. Moreover, many new wireless devices like IoTs lack the interfaces to enter or change passwords. In this talk, I will present our recent research on enhancing wireless security without relying on pre-shared keys or secure auxiliary channels. These methods include proactively randomizing the wireless channel in message confidentiality protection and physical layer key generation to defend against practical passive and active attacks. Finally, I will discuss future directions for extending trust in programmable wireless environments enabled by intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS).

Bio

Yanjun Pan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Arkansas. She received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Arizona in 2021 and her bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, in 2016. Her research interests include cybersecurity, wireless communication, wireless sensing, and network optimization, with emphases on wireless security, 5G-and-beyond communications, mmWave sensing, and cross-layer optimization.