Portugal and USA create wireless network security technology – TVI24

Portuguese and American researchers have developed an innovative security technology for wireless networks (wireless), announced Tuesday the University of Coimbra.

A team of experts, led by the Faculty of science and Technology of Coimbra, developed “a new security layer” to the wireless , says the University of Coimbra, in a statement released Tuesday.

the technology combines coding techniques and “jamming”, a process that involves “intentionally cause noise (disturbance) in the network, to prevent a possible attacker decodes the message, but without compromising legitimate communications,” explains University . Coimbra

The new mechanism – SWING (wireless securing networks with coding and jamming) – now with “international patent application submitted,” the result of five years of studies and experiments conducted at the universities of Coimbra and Colorado Springs, USA.

the project was funded by the Portuguese and American foundations for Science and Technology (FCT) and National Science (NSF), respectively.

Taking advantage of the physical characteristics of wireless networks (signal propagation), experts have developed “new encryption algorithms in conjunction with” jammers “(a kind of kites avoid that can hear the information sent honking ), ensure that the message reaches the legitimate recipient, without the attacker can get, “explains John Vilela and Marco Gomes, project coordinators, cited by the University of Coimbra.

in practice, it is of “codes with a dual role – good and bad – that is, provide reliability to the legitimate receiver and generate noise to the possible attacker on the network”, add

with the massification of smartphones <. / em> and the emergence of promising “internet of things” in which “more and more activities are carried out with use of wireless networks, such as electronic transactions, monitoring for increased efficiency, etc., new risks and vulnerabilities arise, it is necessary to develop new safety systems, “states João Vilela and Marco Gomes.

” The SWING project adds a new layer of security to wireless networks “ , conclude the two researchers and professors of the Faculty of Science and technology, University of Coimbra.

the new technology is in real environment test phase, on plates of “hardware” programmable “software”, in order to ensure the robustness of the code and optimize the system completes the UC.