We have started a new research effort to build wireless systems that provide a high 
degree of privacy for the users of mobile devices. Existing wireless protocols such
as 802.11 transmit unique identifiers, e.g., MAC addresses, that allow users to be
tracked and profiled by any nearby observer. This is becoming problematic as wireless 
devices become more ubiquitous and more personal (with the proliferation of mobile 
phones, personal fitness and medical devices, headsets, and consumer electronics) and 
security problems become more pressing (with the rise in identity theft and unintended 
disclosures). To counter these threats, we are developing techniques that selectively 
disclose addresses and other distinguishing information that maps to high-level identities. 
This is challenging because addresses play a basic role in protocols such that they 
cannot be concealed without impact; traditional encryption methods such as WPA2, IPSEC 
and SSL do not prvent tracking and profiling. I will motivate the problem of wireless 
privacy despite the best security practices in use today, and give an overview of our 
link-layer protocolthat provides a high degree of privacy.

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