Mircea Popescu

Security aspects of RFID communication systems

The objective of this study is to provide an overview of basic technical elements and security risks of RFID communication systems and to analyze the possible threats arising from the use of RFID systems. A number of measurements are performed on a communication system including RFID transponder and the tag reader, and it has been determined that the uplink signal level is 62 dB larger than the average value of the noise at the distance of 1m from the tag, therefore the shielding effectiveness has to exceed this threshold. Next, the card has been covered with several shielding materials and measurements were carried, under similar conditions to test the recovery of compromising signals. A very simple protection measure to prevent unauthorized reading of the data stored on the card has been proposed, and some electromagnetic shielding materials have been proposed and tested.

Considerations on Estimating the Minimal Level of Attenuation in TEMPEST Filtering for IT Equipments

The main purpose of this research is to improve the security of critical computer systems with minimal costs. One of the main problems in such cases is the secondary emissions generated by electronic equipment that, sometimes, might contain confidential information stored inside a secured computer network. The implementation of a set of measures necessary to prevent information leakage through compromising emissions is generally expensive. This paper analyzes some minimal requirements that have to be fulfilled by the filtering devices in order to protect the existing commercial IT equipment against compromising emissions.

Compromising Electromagnetic Emanations of Wired USB Keyboards

The TEMPEST methods and procedures focus on classified information carriers generated by any electronic devices through electromagnetic radiation. Any electromagnetic radiation-carrying information is called compromising emanation. In this paper we will exemplify the keystroke information recovery by receiving compromising emanations emitted by the USB keyboards and the possibility of automatic detection of compromising emanation by using the autocorrelation function as well as the risk assessment of information vulnerability.

Security Risk: Detection of Compromising Emanations Radiated or Conducted by Display Units

In this paper we propose a method of detecting the propagation frequencies of compromising emanations in order to evaluate the risk of eavesdropping the display units. By modulating the video signal with an audio file, we have been able to detect the compromising emanations on the frequencies where the audition occurred. The level of those emanations is an important issue in the process of evaluating the security risk. The higher the level, the higher is the probability of detection and reconstruction of displayed information.

Probability of OFDM Signal Interception in eHealth Applications

The main purpose of the research conducted in this field is to improve senior’s Quality of Life using remote monitoring systems. One of the main problems of these remote systems is the sensitive personal/medical data security. As in different field of e-Health, like telemedicine, where a high data rate is requested, OFDM systems represent a suitable candidate for these areas. This paper focus is to analyze the probability of intercept (POI) for OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) communication systems. A number of measurements are performed using a WiMAX communication signal. The measurements were conducted using two broadband spectrum analyzers and the conclusions are that the POI, for these systems, is proportional with the number of parallel receiver channels and the scanning speed of the receivers.