Security and performance challenges for user-centric wireless networking

User-centrism has emerged as a disruptive new communication paradigm. In this article, we lay out its basic principles, study the key factors that have given rise to its adoption, and focus on the new set of challenges it brings about in various aspects of wireless networking. We study user-centric solutions on a case-by-case basis, along the dimensions of wireless access, provision of communication services, and wireless network management. We tackle specific security and performance challenges by designing and implementing architectures for secure VoIP communication tailored to user-centric wireless networks, and for robust user-driven wireless topology monitoring, a critical network management task. In both cases, we quantify the tradeoff between security and performance, showcasing the potential of relying on users to carry out traditionally provider-centric tasks.