Below information about possible MSc projects (afstudeeropdrachten).
More general information about doing an MSc project
in the Digital Security group can be found
here.
My core research interests focus on the security of wireless communication technologies (like GSM, GPRS and UMTS) and the devices that implement these.
There are plenty of opportunities for Master or Bachelor thesis projects in this area.
Some concrete proposals below. These proposals reflect my own interests; of course, you're more than welcome to come up with other proposals based on your own expertise and interests. NB for a Master thesis you should choose a topic that you think is interesting.
- Security analysis of a little looked-at wireless communication protocol like TETRA, GSM-R, Satellite telephony or GPRS, including practical research using a software radio and open-source tools.
- More specific research into UMTS/3G, e.g. can we make our own basestation? Can we force a 3G phone to 2G in a smart way?
- Femtocell hacking. Femtocells are small GSM/UMTS base stations that you can place at home or in the office to improve cell reception. For these devices to work properly they have to be able to connect to the core network of a provider which naturally causes all kinds of security concerns.
- Fuzzing of wireless communication protocols. We've already had a MSc thesis on fuzzing of some of the GSM protocol layers, which could be extended upon, or entirely different protocols could be fuzzed.
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