Private network access management systems in wi-fi environments

Wi-Fi has become integral to modern life, yet its pervasive connectivity introduces significant privacy risks as devices broadcast identifiable information during network discovery and communication. While MAC address randomization has been widely deployed to mitigate tracking, existing implementations remain vulnerable to sophisticated attacks that exploit temporal patterns, cross-layer features, and protocol-level information leakage. This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation of privacy vulnerabilities in Wi-Fi MAC-layer protocols and proposes standards-compliant solutions to enhance user privacy. First, I demonstrate the Burst Interval Attack, which exploits predictable timing patterns in probe request transmissions to re-identify devices despite MAC randomization. To counter this, I introduce Jittery, a defense suite that anonymizes network discovery through bounded randomization of transmission timing while preserving connectivity and performance. Next, I present TRACE, a cross-layer fingerprinting attack that combines physical-layer signal characteristics with MAC-layer behavior to link randomized MAC addresses with high accuracy in real-world environments. Finally, I develop MIRAGE, a system enabling dynamic MAC randomization during active AP connections through multi-interface coordination, addressing a critical limitation where devices remain trackable throughout network sessions. Collectively, this research reveals that robust Wi-Fi privacy requires eliminating cross-layer linkability during network discovery and association. The proposed mechanisms demonstrate that standards-compliant solutions can achieve strong privacy guarantees without compromising connectivity or performance, contributing to a safer and more private wireless ecosystem.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Science

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Cifuentes-Urtubey, Federico

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kravets, Robin
• Vasisht, Deepak
• Wang, Gang
• Ramirez, David

• Wireless networks
• Wireless systems
• Wi-Fi
• Privacy

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Federico Cifuentes-Urtubey

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132577

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132577