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Abstract

Certain location-based services seek to spontaneously authenticate user location without the need to have a pre-existing relationship with each user, or with each location provider. We introduce an intelligent infrastructure-based solution that provides spontaneous, rapid, and robust mobile device location authentication by supplementing existing 802.11x APs with femtocells. We show that by transferring data to a mobile device associated with a femtocell while remotely monitoring its traffic activity, a sender can verify the cooperating receiver’s location. We explain how to design data transmissions with distinct traffic signatures that can be rapidly and reliably detected even in the presence of heavy cross-traffic introduced by other femtocell users. Neither mobile operators nor location providers need be aware that an authentication is taking place.

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© 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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Brassil, J., Manadhata, P.K. (2012). Verifying the Location of a Mobile Device User. In: Schmidt, A.U., Russello, G., Krontiris, I., Lian, S. (eds) Security and Privacy in Mobile Information and Communication Systems. MobiSec 2012. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 107. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33392-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33392-7_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33391-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33392-7

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