Electromagnetic Signatures of WLAN Cards and Network Security

Published

December 21, 2005

Author(s)

Catherine A. Remley, Chriss A. Grosvenor, Robert T. Johnk, David R. Novotny, Paul D. Hale, Michael McKinley, Emmanouil Antonakakis, A Karygiannis

Abstract

The proliferation of wireless devices and the availability of new wireless applications and services raise new privacy and security concerns. Although network-layer anonymity protects the identities of the communication endpoints, the physical layer of many wireless communication protocols offers no such guarantee. The electromagnetic signal transmitted over an open communication medium can be monitored, captured, and analyzed in an effort to trace and identify users of wireless devices. In this paper we present preliminary results on the feasibility of identifying wireless nodes in a network by measuring distinctive electromagnetic characteristics or “signatures” of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) cards.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology, 2005.

Conference Dates

December 19-21, 2005

Conference Location

Athens

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/ISSPIT.2005.1577145

Keywords

wireless networks, microwave measurements, electromagnetic signature, wireless network security

Citation

Remley, C. , Grosvenor, C. , Johnk, R. , Novotny, D. , Hale, P. , McKinley, M. , Antonakakis, E. and Karygiannis, A. (2005), Electromagnetic Signatures of WLAN Cards and Network Security, Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology, 2005., Athens, -1, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/ISSPIT.2005.1577145 (Accessed October 9, 2025)