STROBE: Actively securing wireless communications using Zero-Forcing Beamforming

Abstract—We present the design and experimental evaluation of Simultaneous TRansmission with Orthogonally Blinded Eavesdroppers (STROBE). STROBE is a cross-layer approach that exploits the multi-stream capabilities of existing technologies such as 802.11n and the upcoming 802.11ac standard where multiantenna APs can construct simultaneous data streams using ZeroForcing Beamforming (ZFBF). Instead of using this technique for simultaneous data stream generation, STROBE utilizes ZFBF by allowing an AP to use one stream to communicate with an intended user and the remaining streams to orthogonally “blind” (actively interfere with) any potential eavesdropper thereby preventing eavesdroppers from decoding nearby transmissions. Through extensive experimental evaluation, we show that STROBE consistently outperforms Omnidirectional, Single-User Beamforming (SUBF), and directional antenna based transmission methods by keeping the transmitted signal at the intended receiver and shielded fro...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2012
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Narendra Anand, Sung-Ju Lee, Edward W. Knightly
• Keywords: Communications, Directional Antenna, Indoor Wireless Lan, INFOCOM 2012, Lan Environment