Gabriela is a PhD Researcher at the Science Foundation Ireland, Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies - ADVANCE CRT. Her research focuses on the security issues in IoT, including the development of solutions for the detection and neutralisation of potential vulnerabilities and threats within IoT networks. Gabriela received her MSc. in Computer Communication Networks from Brunel University London in the United Kingdom and her Engineering in Electronics and Network Information from The National Polytechnic School in Ecuador. Bringing over five years of practical experience in the telecommunications industry to her academic pursuits, she combines industry insights with innovative research to contribute significantly to the fields of network security and wireless communications. Research: Internet of Things (IoT), Security, Communication Networks, Wireless Communications.
The expansion of IoT applications, particularly in critical systems, demands developing effective measures against targeted radio interference attacks. To remove such threats it is essential to identify attacks and to distinguish them from natural occurring interference. Furthermore, it is desirable to develop a communication technology-independent detection method as IoT deployments such as smart cities or factories are usually heterogeneous. This research introduces a technology-independent method for detecting targeted interference in IoT deployments capable of operating on resource-constrained IoT devices. Packet loss rates and packet loss patterns independent of the specific physical layer technology are analysed to determine if a targeted attack is present. The proposed approach is validated through comprehensive evaluations of two example technologies, NB-IoT and IEEE 802.15.4 GTS, demonstrating its effectiveness in detecting attacks. Our evaluation shows that the detector can distinguish between targeted interference attacks and the impact of naturally occurring interference.