"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?" (Albert Einstein)
Disclaimer (of some sort) : Research can be very hard and demanding sometimes, but it is also fun and worth doing! It provides the opportunity to be creative, innovative and get your "Eureka" moments in the laboratory (even at 4.00am) :-) That's why I am doing it!
My research interests evolve around the following areas :
- Security, Privacy and AAA in a Mobile IPv6 Context
- Host and Network Mobility
- Ubiquitous and Mobile Networking
- Location Awareness / Presence Management
The gist ; my PhD research focuses on providing Security and Privacy mechanisms and a AAA infrastructure for Mobile Hosts and Mobile Networks. In particular, I have designed a Unified Architecture that provides Security, Privacy and AAA services to Mobile Devices without diregarding the Access Networks' requirements. The Unified Architecture allows real-world deployment of host and network mobility protocols.
A bit of background ; Mobile IP (either V4 or V6) and Network Mobility protocols (such as the NEMO Basic Support Protocol) have been developed for a few years now to facilitate host and network mobility. However, these protocols do not enjoy real-life deployment, because secure network access and secure transmission of data is not ensured. Being able to Authenticate, Authorize and Account (AAA) mobile nodes and mobile network nodes is nowadays a necessity, from both the access network and the mobile node's point of view. Requesting and granting network access to mobile nodes and networks where no prior trust has been defined is a complex task as users require seamless and unobtrusive roaming and data security, whereas access networks require Authentication, Authorization and Accounting of mobile nodes in an dynamic fashion. In addition, mobile devices require privacy when requesting network access (i.e. not disclosing their identity), whereas access networks require knowing who the mobile device is to provide accountable access and for security purposes.
My PhD research focus on providing the above in a reliable and efficient manner. To get an idea of the topologies that might occur and the testing I am doing, see the image below.
(Tip : Don't be puzzled with the image above, it is not rocket science, but it is just here to confuse you:-P)
Incidentally in our Network Mobility research group's webpage you can find more abour our mobility research and experiments.
My secondary research interests include Mobile and Pervasive Computing, Location Awareness / Presence Management systems, LOC/ID routing and Wireless Sensor Networks.
To see the research projects I am (or have been) involved in, or my publications click on the appropriate links.