SPRiNG: synchronized random numbers for wireless security

Motivated by the problem of wireless data link layer security, this paper proposes SPRiNG, a simple protocol for secure point-to-point communication. SPRiNG uses synchronized pseudo random number generation to generate authenticator variables and fresh encryption keys on a per frame basis. A major design goal for SPRiNG was simplicity and compatibility with the existing 802.11b WEP protocol. Though motivated by wireless security, SPRiNG is generic and can be applied anywhere secure point-to-point communication is required. Unlike many proposed security schemes, SPRiNG demonstrates that security does not always necessitate complexity.