The WiMAX Technology: A Wireless Communication Protocol

Running head: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
Wireless communication
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

1WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
Answer to question 1:
The technology known as the WiMAX, known as the Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access, is used to facilitate wireless connectivity among devices by using the IEEE
802.16 standard. The technology is used to command a wide ranges in connection by using the
core principles of multiple input multiple outputs (MIMO) and orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM) techniques (Rengaraju, Lung and Srinivasan 2012). The less time for
feasibility and the fewer requirements in cost is the main motivational need for the acceptance of
this technology. The main encryption standards for these technologies are the DES, TripleDES
and RC2.
DES:
The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is termed as a symmetric key algorithm which is
used for the encryption of the data. The main use of the technology is in the application of
cryptography. The operational method of DES includes the transformation of a text bit of a
specific length to a cipher bit text of the same length. The cipher block size is 64 bits. The
method of encryption includes the presence of a key for decrypting the ciphered texts
(Rengaraju, Lung and Srinivasan 2012).
TripleDES:
The symmetric key algorithm of the TripleDES is the same as that of the DES with the
sole difference in its mode of operation. The application of encryption is usually done three
times. The concept of this technology is used to cause an increase in the key size without
applying any changes in the algorithms. This method uses two different keys (j, k) and
applications of encryption are done by each of them (Kamali, Bennett and Cox 2012). As the two

2WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
key methods are vulnerable to middle key threats and risks, the use for three keys is adopted to
mitigate them.
RC2:
The RC2 algorithm is also termed as a symmetric key algorithm for encryption standards.
However, the size of the key is 40 bits. The main developer of this standard is Ron Rivest. The
size of the key is supposed to be variable (Kamali, Bennett and Cox 2012). The main
specifications of the standards are the presence of 18 rounds where 16 of them are of one type
and the remaining two are of another type. The two types are either MIXING or MASHING.
Algorithm Developer Key
size
Block
size
Algorithm Rounds Compatibility to
WiMAX
DES IBM 56 bits 64 bits Feistel
Network
16 Yes
TripleDES IBM 112 bits 64 bits Feistel
Network
48 Yes
RC2 Ron Rivest 8-128
bits
64 bits Heavy
source
Feistel
Network
18 Yes
Table: Comparison between the three standards
Answer to question 2:
Personal area network (PAN) is basically used to connect among various devices present
in the vicinity. The devices can range from computers to mobile devices with connectivity
access. In addition, the devices can also be connected to the internet where one of them is used as
the router for internet connections. As the technology is used to provide connectivity in the
vicinity, the rage of connection is up to a few meters. This section discusses about the various
PAN technologies namely the Bluetooth and the ZigBee.

3WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
Bluetooth:
The use of ultra high frequency (UHF) band is used to provide communication features
accepting a short range in connectivity. The range used for communication is 2.4 GHZ and the
modulation techniques used is the Gaussian Frequency shift keying (GFSK) and 8DPSK.
Due to the advancement in technologies, the presence of various risks is evident in
communicating with Bluetooth (Carpenter, Fowler & Adler, 2012). These are default
configuration of the device, loss or theft, person-in-the-middle, denial of service and service
mapping.
The default configuration is the presence of pre-installed configurations in the system
which is already applied by the manufacturers during its development. Due to the complex
nature of the configuration, people often neglect their reconfiguration. When the Bluetooth is in
ON mode, the BD_ADDR and clock will be noticed by the other devices present in the vicinity
of the user. This is the main problem where unethical attackers can get access to the systems to
steal information.
Loss or theft of information is another concern for risks in the systems. A Bluetooth
device always stores the access keys of the other devices in their memory. In case a device falls
into wrong hands, it can be used to get access to all the paired devices (Versichele et al. 2012).
This is a main concern and the security implications are to be addressed. This can also be used to
eavesdrop into the systems and steal information.
The person-in-the-middle attack is also another security challenge of Bluetooth. Due to
the advancements in technologies, attackers can get access to the private keys of devices in the
vicinity. Their device can then be used to get access to the other devices in vicinity. The main
mode of operation includes the mimicry of the attacker’s device to act like normal devices. When