Novel Techniques for Thwarting Communication Jamming in Wireless Networks

A major challenge in securing wireless applications and services is the inherent vulnerability of radio transmissions to communication jamming Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. This vulnerability gains in significance the more one takes the ubiquity of these applications and services for granted and becomes a crucial factor in the context of safety-critical applications. At best, failures of safety-critical systems can result in substantial financial damage - at worst, in loss of life.

In this thesis, we investigate the fundamental primitives that enable jamming-resistant communication and propose novel anti-jamming techniques for scenarios where common anti-jamming techniques cannot be applied. This includes scenarios where network dynamics or lack of trust in the devices prohibits the pre-distribution of shared secrets (a prerequisite for common anti-jamming techniques), or where the use of anti-jamming communication is precluded by the constraints of the employed (e.g., narrowband and single-channel) transceivers.