SHAWK: Platform for Secure Integration of Heterogeneous Advanced Wireless Networks

Abstract

With the popularity of different wireless access technologies for Internet access, the integration of heterogeneous wireless networks is foreseen in the near future. Solutions for secured Internet access in such scenario become an urgent requirement. In this paper, we present SHAWK, a platform for secure integration of heterogeneous advanced wireless networks, including cellular networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs) and wireless mesh networks (WMNs) for ubiquitous Internet access. We have developed effective mechanisms to strike the balance between security and performance requirements in such heterogeneous networks from media access layer to application layer, including a customized context-aware media independent handoff (MIH) framework, a unified access testbed for 3G and Wi-Fi integration, a secure fast handoff scheme between different wireless networks, a practical secure routing solution to defend wormhole attack and an novel application for secure application mobility. Through comprehensive experiments, we show that our mechanisms can ensure the network security, with satisfactory system performance.