The manipulation of RF-DNA fingerprints through the use of a phase-modulated clock in IEEE802.11a Wi-Fi signals

The ubiquity of IoT devices has created an urgent need to augment existing network security mechanisms by leveraging discriminating, waveform characteristics to facilitate the detection of unauthorized devices. RF-DNA fingerprints are a waveform-based approach capable of distinguishing one device from others of the same manufacturer and model. This work investigates the extent to which the intentionally inserted changes can alter the RF-DNA fingerprints of the transmitted signal without negatively impacting the receiver’s ability to demodulate the received signal. The experiments presented herein investigate intentional changes caused by the external clock to the preamble of the 802.11a Wi-Fi waveform from which RF-DNA fingerprints are extracted. Analysis is conducted using the Gabor Transform. The results show the structure of the preamble remains intact when the clock signal is phase-modulated using sine waves oscillating frequencies up to 10 kHz with deviation of 1.5 degrees, or 2.5 kHz with deviation of 90 degrees.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Ibrahim, Ahmed

Contributors dc:contributor

• Reising, Donald
• Kandah, Farah; Loveless, Daniel
• College of Engineering and Computer Science

• Computer security
• Computer networks -- Security measures

Licence

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/632

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1794