Toward Secure Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks

Low rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPANs) offer device level wireless connectivity. They bring to light a host of new applications as well as enhance existing applications. Due to their low cost, low power consumption and self-organization features, LR-WPANs are ideal for applications such as public security, battle field monitoring, inventory tracking, as well as home and office automation. Nevertheless, one critical issue, security, needs to be solved before LR-WPANs are commonly accepted. Pursuing security in LR-WPANs is a challenging task. On one hand, wireless communications are inherently susceptible to interception and interference. On the other hand, most devices in LR-WPANs are resource-constrained and lack physical safeguards. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the threats faced by LR-WPANs with respect to the protocol stack defined by IEEE 802.15.4 and the ZigBee Alliance. Attacks are modeled and their impacts are evaluated. Some security problems within the current LR-WPAN security architecture are identified and remedies are suggested. Countermeasures of various attacks are also given