Browsing by Author "Shaikhanov, Zhambyl"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Audio misinformation encoding via an on-phone sub-terahertz metasurface
    (Optica Publishing Group, 2024) Shaikhanov, Zhambyl; Al-Madi, Mahmoud; Chen, Hou-Tong; Chang, Chun-Chieh; Addamane, Sadhvikas; Mittleman, Daniel M.; Knightly, Edward W.
    We demonstrate a wireless security application to protect the weakest link in phone-to-phone communication, using a terahertz metasurface. To our knowledge, this is the first example of an eavesdropping countermeasure in which the attacker is actively misled.
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    FALCON: Fine-Time-Measurement to Approach, Localize, and Track RF Targets via Drone Networks
    (2020-04-23) Shaikhanov, Zhambyl; Knightly, Edward
    We present FALCON, a novel mobile sensing system to approach, localize, and track RF targets via drone networks. We leverage existing Wi-Fi technology and its recent Fine Time Measurement (FTM) protocol to realize the first FTM sensing drones that can dynamically range targets in a mission. FALCON is also the first robotic system realizing FTM for autonomous navigation. In addition, we propose a new flight planning strategy to simultaneously approach and localize a target to enable higher resolution sensory measurements and to realize approaching-critical tasks in a mission in addition to localization and tracking. For that, we propose to jointly exploit drones' diversity of observation and dynamics of approaching the target, and dynamically adjust the intensities of approaching and observation based on a mission requirement. Our implementation of the flight planning strategy on custom FTM-enabled drones shows that FALCON achieves up to 2x localization accuracy gain compared to a baseline Bio-inspired approach, and in total spends 30% less time in localizing the target.
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    Metasurface-in-the-Middle Attacks: Wavefront Manipulation Threats and Countermeasures
    (2024-04-18) Shaikhanov, Zhambyl; Knightly, Edward
    Transcending the capabilities of traditional devices, metasurfaces offer nearly limitless control of the EM properties of wireless signals and have recently been shown to facilitate wireless communication with unique designs. However, in this thesis, I explore the security threats posed by malicious metasurfaces and demonstrate that, along with new opportunities, they bring forth unprecedented security challenges. In particular, I expose a new class of “MetaSurface-in-the-Middle” attacks, wherein malicious agent, Eve, can intercept pencil-beam directional links - conventionally believed to be immune from eavesdropping - with an almost imperceptible trace. By exploring the foundation of the attack in WLAN scenarios, I demonstrate that such malicious metasurfaces could be fabricated in under 5 minutes and at the cost of several cents. Furthermore, I study the attack with wireless backhaul links, which are crucial for many functions like low-latency financial trading on Wall Street. I show how Eve designs and employs MetaFly to covertly manipulate the EM wavefront on highly directional backhaul links, secretly inducing eavesdropping diffraction beams. I implement and demonstrate these attacks in both large indoor and outdoor rooftops in a metropolitan area, showcasing how Eve can intercept transmissions with nearly zero bit error rate while maintaining minimal impact on legitimate communication.