Securing Communication in Ambient Networks for Speech Therapy Systems

Abstract

One of the most present issues of computer wireless networks is the security. Comparing with their wired counterpart, the wireless networks not only accentuate some of the well-known security vulnerabilities but they are subject of new and specific ones. Among the existing wireless networks the ad hoc ones are the most exposed to attacks and collusions due to the absence of any centralized control. The most efficient way to ensure the communication secrecy, inclusively for ad hoc wireless networks, is the cryptography. From many reasons, following from specific operating conditions, the employment of asymmetric key techniques and Public Key Infrastructure is not a realistic choice. In the networks with a large number of nodes, as wireless sensor networks, a large number of secret keys are involved in order to ensure the communication secrecy. While dynamicity is one of the essential features of mobile wireless networks, when nodes may leave or join the network and in the absence of a centralized control entity, the management of secret keys is crucial. The paper presents the main aspects of mobile wireless networks security and focuses on the key management issue in ad-hoc wireless networks.In this paper the problem of securing mobile devices used in ambient networks for speech therapy is presented. The main target consists in making various mobile devices involved in speech therapy to maintain both the confidentiality of personal data of the patient and also to avoid interference when simultaneous communicate with the control center. Due to non-technical type of user all password management will be made automatic by the control system. As result the mobile device will have a user transparent security layer added. The problem of people from isolated community treatment is also solved by this approach.

Keywords

• communication system security
• distributed computing
• microcontrollers