Security protection of neighborhood area networks in smart grid systems

• Main Author: Lin, Cheng Cheng
• Other Authors: Ma Maode
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Wireless communication systems
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63843
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Wireless mesh now is very popular in the deployment of various smart grids, such as Neighborhood Area Networks (NAN) and Home Area Networks (HAN). But it is very vulnerable to cyber-attack especially Denial of service – Dos attack, as data packets have to be relayed on a hop-by-hop basis. In this project I will investigate various attacks in the NAN of the smart grid systems. For providing data integrity and confidentiality and preventing NAN from under attack, IEEE 802.11i is the latest standard to define the security of neighborhood area network (NAN). However in later study, people found that there is vulnerability in this protocol, especially 4-way handshake protocol, which is part of this protocol. As the first message it transfers is not encrypted, attackers can forge these messages very easily so it is subjected to denial of service (Dos) attack. There is also vulnerability in message 3, as attackers can send a false RSNE without computation of message integrity code – MIC so they can also terminate 4-way handshake process very easily. Researchers have proposed many solutions, like Temporary PTK, Message 1 Authentication and SNonce Reuse to protect message 1 and message 3 in recent years, but none of them have solved those problems. This project will propose an Enhanced 3-way Handshake Protocol to deter Dos attack against 4-way handshake protocol and make handshake process to be finished in an easier and more secure way.