WiMAX Security and WPAN Challenges

This assignment examines WiMAX network security, highlighting IEEE 802.16e standards and various encryption protocols. It delves into the limitations of WiMAX security, particularly focusing on authentication and key management. Furthermore, the assignment analyzes challenges in Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) like Bluetooth and ZigBee, discussing vulnerabilities such as battery draining denial-of-service attacks and inadequate user authentication. Finally, it explores energy harvesting technologies as a potential solution for powering wireless devices, citing examples from biomedical applications.

Task 1
The WiMAX network has its security measures highlighted by the IEEE 802.16 standards. It ensures
encryption and authentication for the WiMAX security. The security model uses a number of advanced
techniques based over the air encryption (Radio-electronics, n.d.). The researchers seek to develop the
end to end security in the system by adopting better security techniques within the overall network design
and roll out as well as in the ways of working. There are three key encryption standards commonly used
in the WiMAX technology namely,
(i) Data encryption standards (DES)
(ii) Privacy key management protocol Version 2 (PKMv2), Extensible Authentication protocol
(EAP)
(iii) EAS- the advanced encryption standard
The PKMv2 has a key management protocol for the encrypted and authorized exchange of crypto keys
for broadcast and multicast traffic. The internet engineering task force proposed another protocol for
device and user authentication known as the extensible authentication protocol. The EAS protects traffic
as it is being transmitted. Authentication gives the network an ability of the network to ensure that the
users and their devices are accessing services legitimately. The EAP provides a flexible and scalable
platform for the authentication of both the users and their personal devices.
The AES is preferred to all the other encryption standards as it ensures protection of traffic over the air. It
uses the cipher block chaining message and the authentication code. It introduces the use of traffic
encryption state machine which uses a periodic key refresh mechanism to provide for the continued
transition of keys. Both AES and DES are block cipher encryption techniques. The AES is a replacement
of the DES. The AES is faster, more flexible, and reliable as compared to the DES and Blowfish. The
DES uses an encryption of 64-bits with a key length of 56 bits while the AES has a variable key length of
128, 192, 256 bits. The default key length used is the 256 bits in the AES (Krishnan, Bharadwaj, &
Choong, 2008).
DES 56-bit key
16-cycle of each 48-bit sub keys in permutating the 56-bit key.
Block size of 64-bits made from L and R blocks of 32-bits each.
AES 128-,192-,256-bit key
Symmetrical block ciphers for the 128-bit data blocks
10,12,14-round effective on an attack against the algorithm.
Blowfish 64-bit block cipher
32-bit to 448-bit variable length keys
Free, unpatented, unlicensed encryption standard.
The AES standards is the most preferred technique or standards owing to,
(i) Robust and very secure
(ii) Software and hardware performance
(iii) Suitability in restricted space environments
(iv) Resistance to the analysis of power and other implementation attacks
1

Task 2
Security challenges for any two examples of WPAN technologies.
There are several forms of the WPAN technologies such as the Bluetooth, ZigBee, and ad-hoc small
wireless computer networks. The current security schemes implemented for the WPANs are immature.
There is no proper visualization technique present for wireless communication. The security model used
in the wired networks is much more secure than the wireless of the WPAN. The Bluetooth and ZigBee
technology uses the compressed real-time transport protocol that is very high and erratic bit error rate. It
provides inadequate security integration scheme for heterogenous networks. In the Bluetooth technology,
all the services on the device are given the same security policy as those services on the other application
layer add-ons. The technology only seeks to authenticate the devices being used as opposed to the persons
transferring the data. The same security policy is implemented uniformly for all the services. The security
standard depends on the addresses and shared keys using a fixed PIN. Another constraint is the battery
draining denial of service attack.
Task 3
This task seeks to review two journals and critic the information or stand of the author.
Topic: Energy harvest
Globally, there has been an increase in the general population of the people. This has led to a
rising need for power as more power is being consume. Many nations began using the hydroelectric
power. It is not very reliable. Some use fuel and other coal mined fuels that are exhaustible. The fuel need
has prompted researchers to seek better methods of providing energy to meet the needs of the population.
Many case studies and experiment have led to the use of other energy means such as the solar energy and
the electromagnetic ambient EH, light energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, human energy, wind
energy, and RF energy. The energy harvesting has been largely implemented in the wireless
communication and networks. There are ad hoc sensor networks that follow the minimum energy path to
optimize energy usage at a node such that the limited resources at sensor nodes can be used more
effectively (Indrajit, Sagar, & kaylan, 2017). These new modes of energy have reduced the need of
battery replacement and the maintenance of the sensor nodes is easily prolonged. The new modes of
energy harvesting have created the sought energy neutrality (Ijcaonline, n.d.). It defines a situation where
the energy consumed is less than or equal to the amount untapped in the environment. This provides
consistency and the equipment can run continuously without failure or downtime.
The new energy sources have found their application in the biomedical industry. This enables the
doctors and other medical practitioners to have portable medical devices for use in remote locations. For
instance, they can power a wearable sphygmomanometer or have an implanted pacemaker for heat beat
detection. The new energy sources have opened up a new frontier for technological innovations and
ensure that the medical facilities run swiftly throughout the day. The blood pressure measure gadgets are
now powered even by solar and the patients can carry out the tests from the comfort of their homes. The
technology is so advanced that the systems can now transmit information about a patient from one health
facility to their registered health facility to monitor the condition of a patient and maintain the correct
records. There researchers have not stopped at the discovered EH energy harvesting architecture. They
have spotted a need for improvement and to tap more ambient sources. The future is now focused on
integrating the different sources of energy that are tapped from the environment to one common point and
the energy gathered is transmitted to different loads.
2

Works Cited
Ijcaonline. (n.d.). Energy Sustainability. Retrieved from IJCA Online: http://www.ijcaonline.org
Indrajit, S., Sagar, M., & kaylan, B. (2017). A review of energy harvesting technology and its
applications. Environment and Earth Sciences research Journal.
Krishnan, S., Bharadwaj, V., & Choong, W. L. (2008). WiMAX architecture, protocols,Security
& Privacy. Wireless network and mobility communication.
Radio-electronics. (n.d.). Encryption standards. Retrieved from Radio electronics:
http://www.radio-electronics.com
3