Wireless connectivity is crucial for many everyday applications like satellite navigation and cellular communication. In the future, increasingly more applications take advantage of sharing information over the air. But over-the-air communications has its drawbacks.
“The broadcast nature of wireless communications means that multiple receivers can receive the same transmitted signal. However, one receiver can also receive multiple transmitted signals added together. This makes wireless connections vulnerable because malicious users may intercept and interfere with them,” says Karel Pärlin.
Many of the applications relying on wireless connectivity involve cyber-physical systems that interact with the physical world. The concern is that security breaches could compromise the safety of physical surroundings.
Hiding wireless signals behind intentionally generated interference, which can only be suppressed by authorized receivers, is in theory considered a secure method, but it has not been viable in practice. In his doctoral dissertation, Karel Pärlin developed methods that bridge that gap between theory and practice, paving the way for securing wireless communications at the physical layer.
In his doctoral thesis Pärlin studies specifically remotely controlled drones, satellite navigation systems, and sensor networks. He provides insight into how security and reliability impact the safety of wireless cyber-physical systems. Pärlin also develops means to improve the security and reliability of those systems through both intentional interference transmission and its suppression. The developed solutions can be relevant to many applications that rely on wireless connectivity.
Public defence on Friday 10 November
The doctoral dissertation of MSc Karel Pärlin in the field of wireless communications titled Multifunction Radios and Interference Suppression for Enhanced Reliability and Security of Wireless Systems will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences of Tampere University in room TB109 in the Tietotalo building (address: Korkeakoulunkatu 1, Tampere) at 12:00 on Friday, 10th of November 2023.
The Opponent will be Professor Jyri Hämäläinen from Aalto University. The Custos will be Associate Professor Taneli Riihonen from the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University.