Security architecture for a cognitive radio

Authors:

  • Alf Bengtsson

Publish date: 2010-12-22

Report number: FOI-R--3065--SE

Pages: 20

Written in: English

Keywords:

  • Virtual Machines
  • Xen
  • mandatory access control
  • MAC
  • SELinux
  • Smack
  • NetLabel
  • information classes
  • separation
  • security
  • cognitive radio

Abstract

The main objective of the project Dynamic Telecommunications Solutions (DynamiT) is research concerning methods for a cognitive radio, CR, to perceive the environment, e.g. utilization of frequencies. Additionally, security aspects of a potential network of CRs shall be taken into account. The security aspects for the radio itself cannot be thoroughly considered until functional components are realized. Instead, an architecture for the network has been considered. The objective has been to sufficiently implement and test open source available tools to reach an opinion on what is needed to transmit separate classes of information. The bottom line is that there are capable tools to achieve separation of information classes. Components tested by us are virtual machine monitor Xen, subsystem NetLabel to label IP-packets and Smack, plug-in extension to Linux for mandatory access control. However, more components must be added. Such components are packet authentication, encryption devices and, particularly, the radio node.