NeTS:Small: A Joint LAyered Coding Scheme for Unified Reliable and Secure Media Transmission over Wireless Networks

The objective of this research is to develop a joint layered coding scheme to meet the needs of end-to-end simultaneous error protection and secure media transmission over wireless networks. The approach takes advantage of the hierarchical structure of digital media compressed by media coding standards, such as JPEG2000 and MPEG-4/H.264. Simultaneous error and authentication protection is a significant goal of this project. The intellectual merit of this research lies in the integrated investigations into authentication strategy and data unit selection; joint media error and authentication protection; and optimal rate allocation for all components of the media transmission system. The proposed joint layered coding scheme has the potential to enable the design of both error protection and authentication within the same framework and to achieve optimal resource and bandwidth allocation. With respect to broader impact, the integration principle investigated here has the potential to be applied to more general system designs where components are competing for limited resources. Also, the layered coding-based integrated media authentication scheme has the potential to be resilient to denial-of-service attacks, thus addressing an important security need. By working with the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Research and Education at SUNY at Buffalo, this project provides undergraduate students with hands-on training opportunities.