ETH Zurich : Computer Science : Pervasive Computing : Distributed Systems : Education : Student Projects : Abstract

Evaluating Protocols for Secure Device Pairing (M)

Status: Abgeschlossen

In a world full of ambient intelligence and smart services, the secure pairing of two devices is of prime importance: without being able to authenticate whom our smart phone is transmitting its access keys or credit card information to, no real security is possible. While a number of proposals have recently emerged in the literature, it is unclear whether these approaches are not only cryptographically secure, but also usable. After all, if using these methods is cumbersome or complicated, people will not bother with them, as the many unsecured wireless networks aptly demonstrate.

In this thesis, the usability of device pairing protocols should be examined: How easy is it to use the system for securely associating two devices? Which parameters offer the best balance between ease-of-use and security requirements? How susceptible are the protocol to social engineering attacks?

This thesis will be jointly supervised by the System Security Group and the Distributed Systems Group.