Secure and Power-Efficient Computing on Mobile Platforms

Abstract

Mobile devices have been the driving force behind the electronics industry for over a decade. Compared more traditional computing systems such as desktop or laptop computers, these devices prioritize ease-of-use and portability over raw compute power or extensible input methodologies. This change in focus results in devices which are generally small in size, regularly transported (and forgotten), using greatly simplified user interfaces. The main challenges with such devices become 1) securing the data produced by and stored on them, and 2) minimizing power consumption during operation in order to prolong limited battery life. W.r.t. the first of these two challenges, the first research goal of this dissertation is to identify and develop robust and transparent methodologies for both authenticating a user to a device, as well as securing data stored on or generated by these devices. For securing data produced by and stored on mobile devices, consideration must be given to both user authentication and data integrity. For this dissertation, a novel means of user authentication based on device interaction will be examined. The detailed gesture-based authentication scheme is shown to have high accuracy, while requiring no additional input from the user beyond utilizing the device. Additionally, for securing data stored on the device post-authentication, this dissertation will explore alternate methodologies for detection of adversarial noise added to user images. The discussed methodology is shown to have high attack-detection accuracy while remaining computationally efficient.W.r.t. the second challenge, the second research goal of this dissertation is to examine alternative, more computationally- and power-efficient methodologies for accomplishing existing tasks, tailored around the unique capabilities and limitations of mobile devices. For this dissertation, a general-case power-saving technique of dynamic framerate and resolution scaling will be investigated. It is shown that significant power savings can be achieved with little- to no-impact on user experience. For saving power in a more specialized task, this dissertation will investigate the use of the GPS in route reconstruction apps for wearable devices. The demonstrated scheduler greatly reduces power consumption while still allowing route reconstruction.