Preventing traffic analysis in packet radio networks

Traffic analysis poses a serious threat to communication security, especially in wireless networks. Strong encryption and traffic padding are often used to hide message contents as well as traffic patterns. In a dynamic environment, when real traffic patterns change, i.e. when the network switches its operation mode, determining an optimal cover mode such that the real traffic service is not degraded and the real traffic patterns are not revealed becomes a challenge. In this paper, we discuss different methods of constructing a traffic cover mode, we formulate an optimality problem, and we present a solution to it