Fingerprints in the Ether: Channel-Based Authentication

Most wireless systems lack the ability to reliably identify clients without employing complicated cryptographic tools. This introduces a significant threat to the security of wireless networks, as the wireless channel is a broadcast medium, i.e., intruders can access wireless networks without a physical connection. One serious consequence is that spoofing attacks (or masquerading attacks), where a malicious device claims to be a specific client by spoofing its MAC address, becomes possible. Spoofing attacks can seriously degrade network performance and facilitate many forms of security weakness.

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