Secure pairing of mobile devices (MA thesis)

Date
2012-05-16
DOI
Authors
Hacker, Megan
Crovella, Mark
Reyzin, Leonid
Version
OA Version
Citation
Hacker, Megan; Crovella, Mark; Reyzin, Leonid. "Secure Pairing of Mobile Devices (MA Thesis)", Technical Report BUCS-TR-2012-011, Computer Science Department, Boston University, May 16, 2012. [Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/11399]
Abstract
As mobile devices become increasingly popular, the necessity for both user-friendly and secure pairing methods for these devices also rises. One natural approach to pairing devices is to match them based on a shared experience. In this work, we define a shared experience as the act of physically holding two devices together and shaking them for a short period. The common movement data collected during the shaking process can subsequently be used to verify the authenticity of a secret key established via a key exchange protocol. This paper explores the process of key verification using two different measures: a coherence measure derived through time series analysis and a measure based on Hamming distance. Using ROC curves, we show that both of these measures robustly distinguish between the case where two devices have been shaken together and the case where two devices have been shaken separately.
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