Speaker
Mr
Piers O'Hanlon
(University of Oxford)
Description
In the process of network attachment to IEEE 802 networks a mobile device can potentially reveal a lot about where its user has been and when. The current use of an immutable link-layer address also facilitates persistent tracking. These privacy issues are firstly down to the design of the link layer addressing and protocols, and secondly due to protocols used in IP address acquisition or reacquisition (e.g. DHCP, DNA). The current situation is now starting to change, with some devices beginning to use ephemeral link-layer addressing and also improving their implementation of address acquisition protocols. Furthermore a number of standards bodies are starting to take privacy more seriously and have begun various efforts to address it.
Summary
In this talk I will go over the current situation with respect to network attachment protocols (e.g. 802.11, DHCP, DNA) and their implications for privacy. I will then detail some new measures that are being taken to attempt to improve the situation.
Primary author
Mr
Piers O'Hanlon
(University of Oxford)
