WPA Totem: Sharing temporaryWi-Fi Configuration Tokens using NFC

Abstract

Joining a private Wi-Fi network is an intricate operation for end users, especially when they must type a long and complicated password in order to gain access. Moreover, it is often the case where users connect to multiple such hotspots, placed in public places visited in their daily routine, further exacerbating the issue.In this paper we present WPA-Totem: a small device that emits Wi-Fi configuration tokens, which can be received by any NFC-enabled smartphones and tablets. Moreover, our proposal is able to automatically change the WPA passphrase after a specified period of time, keeping away the freeloaders from the network.WPA-Totem is affordable, easy to deploy and compatible with all the existing WPA2-Personal protected Wi-Fi networks. A new client can connect to the access point by simply tapping the totem and this, as we measured, leads to a dramatic improvement of the user experience.