Applications and Security of Next-Generation, User-Centric Wireless Systems

Pervasive wireless systems have significantly improved end-usersʹ quality of life. As manufacturing costs decrease, communications bandwidth increases, and contextual information is made more readily available, the role of next generation wireless systems in facilitating usersʹ daily activities will grow. Unique security and privacy issues exist in these wireless, context-aware, often decentralized systems. For example, the pervasive nature of such systems allows adversaries to launch stealthy attacks against them. In this review paper, we survey several emergent personal wireless systems and their applications. These systems include mobile social networks, active implantable medical devices, and consumer products. We explore each systemʹs usage of contextual information and provide insight into its security vulnerabilities. Where possible, we describe existing solutions for defending against these vulnerabilities. Finally, we point out promising future research directions for improving these systemsʹ robustness and security.