ITC513 Wireless Networking Concepts For WiMAX Networks

The key size in the Data encryption standard is too short for proper security as it is not enough to encrypt several gigabytes of data with the same key. Another mode of encryption used is the ECB. It split the messages into blocks and did chaining to attach a key to each block for transmission of the encrypted data. When transmitting over the internet one can employ the high-level encryption technique known as RSA. The RSA is asymmetric while the AES is symmetric cryptographic algorithm. In the AES, the encryption and decryption processes require only a single key while in RSA several keys are required. These keys are both public keys and private keys. It is estimated that a 128-bit AES key is approximately equivalent to a 2600-bit RSA key. The AES stands out as the most robust and effective encryption technique as opposed to the DES and the RSA  (Radio-electronics, n.d.)..

2. The security challenges for any two examples of WPAN technologies 

The WPAN technologies define a personal area network that only transmits wirelessly over a short distance. Some of the technologies involved in this are Bluetooth, ZigBee, Body area Network, and wireless USB. The system allows for small yet power efficient solutions to be implemented for a wide range of devices. The security challenges imminent in the Bluetooth technology

• The technology authenticates the devices and not the users. This kind of protection is not appropriate and it depends on app-specific fixes. You must implement the same security modes on all the services on the device.
• The technology depends on MAC addresses of the devices and shared keys. The use of fixed pins poses a huge security challenge. The Bluetooth technology has weaknesses in its security architecture and as a result it is susceptible to malicious attackers.

The ZigBee technology is another example of the WPAN technologies.  It has a very short range of wireless communication. Unfortunately, there are certain risks associated with ZigBee radios such as the general physical attach on the equipment, key attacks, and replay and injection attacks. The key attacks for the devices occur when an intruder accesses the encryption keys of the ZigBee communication remotely and tends to manipulate or tap into private information.

• Denial of service attacks
• Intrusion and unauthorized access to information in transit
• Cracking codes using brute force attack on the encryption or encrypted data.

3. Critical reflection on the topic of Energy Harvest.

Scientists and physicists have been busy over the years trying to harness energy for the environment. It is not enough for the global population to rely on the battery energy of the carbon made batteries. The coal mining or carbon mining is not sustainable and does not promise to supply enough energy for the population. The global population continuously increases over the years; hence a rising need to have power sources to provide enough energy  (Ijcaonline, n.d.). The main source of energy in most nations has been the use of fuel to propel the electricity and other energy producing equipment. Fuel is very expensive to the manufacturer and can be costly to the end user as well. The researchers have discovered other methods of obtaining energy. The environment can contribute to energy production by obtaining solar energy, light energy, electromagnetic energy, wind energy, and ambient EH  (Indrajit, Sagar, & kaylan, 2017). Energy harvesting denotes the process by which energy is obtained from renewable external sources. They allow for remote charging in applications. The energy harvesters provide a very small amount of power for low-energy electronics. The RF energy harvesting is good for the wireless sensor networks as it provides tracking capabilities, mobility, works efficiently in the hazardous locations, can be embedded between walls, is scalable within an enclosure, and can charge a secondary battery.

The new sources of energy have led to various innovations and widespread applications. The energy sources are used in wireless communication as well as in biomedical applications. The biomedical applications. Providing energy harvesting capabilities to wireless devices enables the nodes to continually acquire energy from nature or man-made phenomena  (Karim & Zeadally, 2016). The energy harnessing for wireless networks is intended to introduce several changes in the wireless networking such as self-sufficiency and perpetual operation. The research on energy harvesting goes forward to determine the performance of the new modes with the introduction of white Gaussian noise in efforts to determine the best-effort transmit. Now more devices are portable and the rural or remote areas can be accessed and have provision of equipment running for longer periods due to the unlimited battery. The unlimited battery enables us to save essentially an unlimited amount of energy in the saving phase to prevent any energy outages in the data transmission in wireless communication  (Sennur , et al., 2015). The power harvesting technologies are being improved constantly. With this trend, in a few years to come, most of the world’s energy would be generated from the highlighted renewable sources as long as they meet the energy neutrality principle.  

Works Cited

Ijcaonline. (n.d.). Energy Sustainability. Retrieved from IJCA Online: https://www.ijcaonline.org

Indrajit, S., Sagar, M., & kaylan, B. (2017). A review of energy harvesting technology and its applications. Environment and Earth Sciences research Journal.

Karim, F. S., & Zeadally, S. (2016). Energy Harvesting in wireless sensor networks: A comprehensive review. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 1041-1054.

Krishnan, S., Bharadwaj, V., & Choong, W. L. (2008). WiMAX architecture, protocols,Security & Privacy. Wireless network and mobility communication.

Radio-electronics. (n.d.). Encryption standards. Retrieved from Radio electronics: https://www.radio-electronics.com

Sennur , U., Yener, A., Elza, E., Simeone, O., Zorzi, M., Grover, P., & Huang, K. (2015). Energy Harvesting wireless communications: A Review of Recent Advances. IEEE Journal on selected Areas in communication, 360-381.