Private network access management systems in wi-fi environments

Cifuentes-Urtubey, Federico

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132577 Copy

Description

Title

Private network access management systems in wi-fi environments

Author(s)

Cifuentes-Urtubey, Federico

Issue Date

2025-12-05

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kravets, Robin

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Kravets, Robin

Committee Member(s)

• Vasisht, Deepak
• Wang, Gang
• Ramirez, David

Department of Study

Siebel School Comp & Data Sci

Discipline

Computer Science

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Wireless networks
• Wireless systems
• Wi-Fi
• Privacy

Abstract

Wi-Fi has become integral to modern life, yet its pervasive connectivity introduces significant privacy risks as devices broadcast identifiable information during network discovery and communication. While MAC address randomization has been widely deployed to mitigate tracking, existing implementations remain vulnerable to sophisticated attacks that exploit temporal patterns, cross-layer features, and protocol-level information leakage. This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation of privacy vulnerabilities in Wi-Fi MAC-layer protocols and proposes standards-compliant solutions to enhance user privacy. First, I demonstrate the Burst Interval Attack, which exploits predictable timing patterns in probe request transmissions to re-identify devices despite MAC randomization. To counter this, I introduce Jittery, a defense suite that anonymizes network discovery through bounded randomization of transmission timing while preserving connectivity and performance. Next, I present TRACE, a cross-layer fingerprinting attack that combines physical-layer signal characteristics with MAC-layer behavior to link randomized MAC addresses with high accuracy in real-world environments. Finally, I develop MIRAGE, a system enabling dynamic MAC randomization during active AP connections through multi-interface coordination, addressing a critical limitation where devices remain trackable throughout network sessions. Collectively, this research reveals that robust Wi-Fi privacy requires eliminating cross-layer linkability during network discovery and association. The proposed mechanisms demonstrate that standards-compliant solutions can achieve strong privacy guarantees without compromising connectivity or performance, contributing to a safer and more private wireless ecosystem.

Graduation Semester

2025-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132577

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Federico Cifuentes-Urtubey

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