ABP vs. OTAA activation of LoRa devices: an Experimental Study in a Rural Context.

The lack of communication infrastructure in rural areas starts to be overcome with new wireless network technologies. In this context, LoRa (Long Range) wireless communication technology is seen as an alternative to provide networks with high quality and coverage for communication IoT (Internet-of Things) devices in this context. However, the use of wireless communication technologies in large spaces provides exposure to cybersecurity threats. In this paper, we present an experiment in a rural environment that exposes the susceptibility to vulnerability of LoRa devices when configured by ABP (Activation By Personalization) or OTAA (Over The Air Activation) activation. The results indicate that the ABP and OTAA methods present differences in parameters such as Airtime, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), and SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) of the transmitted packets, and this can be exploited by malicious applications to attack rural IoT applications. Therefore, understanding the behavior of activated devices in different ways can contribute to the mitigation and prevention of attacks, improving the performance of IoT applications in rural areas.