434 research outputs found

    Robust secret key capacity for the MIMO induced source model

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    This paper considers the problem of distilling a secret key in a Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scenario with two legitimate nodes and an eavesdropper. Focusing on the realistic case without perfect knowledge of the eavesdropper channel, and following a conservative practical approach based on the maximization of the worst case secret key capacity (SKC), the problem of designing the optimal transmit covariance matrix is reformulated as a convex optimization problem. In the limiting case in which the eavesdropper channel can not be estimated, or when the estimate is highly unreliable, the optimal covariance matrix can be obtained by means of waterfilling or matched filtering like algorithms. Additionally, we illustrate the benefits of allowing time sharing between transmissions of the two legitimate nodes, and provide an efficient algorithm for obtaining the optimal transmit covariance matrices and time-sharing factor.This work was supported by the Spanish Government, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN), under projects COSIMA (TEC2010-19545-C04-03) and COMONSENS (CSD2008-00010, CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 Program)

    Physical Layer Service Integration in 5G: Potentials and Challenges

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    High transmission rate and secure communication have been identified as the key targets that need to be effectively addressed by fifth generation (5G) wireless systems. In this context, the concept of physical-layer security becomes attractive, as it can establish perfect security using only the characteristics of wireless medium. Nonetheless, to further increase the spectral efficiency, an emerging concept, termed physical-layer service integration (PHY-SI), has been recognized as an effective means. Its basic idea is to combine multiple coexisting services, i.e., multicast/broadcast service and confidential service, into one integral service for one-time transmission at the transmitter side. This article first provides a tutorial on typical PHY-SI models. Furthermore, we propose some state-of-the-art solutions to improve the overall performance of PHY-SI in certain important communication scenarios. In particular, we highlight the extension of several concepts borrowed from conventional single-service communications, such as artificial noise (AN), eigenmode transmission etc., to the scenario of PHY-SI. These techniques are shown to be effective in the design of reliable and robust PHY-SI schemes. Finally, several potential research directions are identified for future work.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

    Robust Optimization of Private Communication in Multi-Antenna Systems

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    The thesis focuses on the privacy of communication that can be ensured by means of the physical layer, i.e., by appropriately chosen coding and resource allocation schemes. The fundamentals of physical-layer security have been already formulated in the 1970s by Wyner (1975), Csiszár and Körner (1978). But only nowadays we have the technical progress such that these ideas can find their way in current and future communication systems, which has driven the growing interest in this area of research in the last years. We analyze two physical-layer approaches that can ensure the secret transmission of private information in wireless systems in presence of an eavesdropper. One is the direct transmission of the information to the intended receiver, where the transmitter has to simultaneously ensure the reliability and the secrecy of the information. The other is a two-phase approach, where two legitimated users first agree on a common and secret key, which they use afterwards to encrypt the information before it is transmitted. In this case, the secrecy and the reliability of the transmission are managed separately in the two phases. The secrecy of the transmitted messages mainly depends on reliable information or reasonable and justifiable assumptions about the channel to the potential eavesdropper. Perfect state information about the channel to a passive eavesdropper is not a rational assumption. Thus, we introduce a deterministic model for the uncertainty about this channel, which yields a set of possible eavesdropper channels. We consider the optimization of worst-case rates in systems with multi-antenna Gaussian channels for both approaches. We study which transmit strategy can yield a maximum rate if we assume that the eavesdropper can always observe the corresponding worst-case channel that reduces the achievable rate for the secret transmission to a minimum. For both approaches, we show that the resulting max-min problem over the matrices that describe the multi-antenna system can be reduced to an equivalent problem over the eigenvalues of these matrices. We characterize the optimal resource allocation under a sum power constraint over all antennas and derive waterfilling solutions for the corresponding worst-case channel to the eavesdropper for a constraint on the sum of all channel gains. We show that all rates converge to finite limits for high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), if we do not restrict the number of antennas for the eavesdropper. These limits are characterized by the quotients of the eigenvalues resulting from the Gramian matrices of both channels. For the low-SNR regime, we observe a rate increase that depends only on the differences of these eigenvalues for the direct-transmission approach. For the key generation approach, there exists no dependence from the eavesdropper channel in this regime. The comparison of both approaches shows that the superiority of an approach over the other mainly depends on the SNR and the quality of the eavesdropper channel. The direct-transmission approach is advantageous for low SNR and comparably bad eavesdropper channels, whereas the key generation approach benefits more from high SNR and comparably good eavesdropper channels. All results are discussed in combination with numerous illustrations.Der Fokus dieser Arbeit liegt auf der Abhörsicherheit der Datenübertragung, die auf der Übertragungsschicht, also durch geeignete Codierung und Ressourcenverteilung, erreicht werden kann. Die Grundlagen der Sicherheit auf der Übertragungsschicht wurden bereits in den 1970er Jahren von Wyner (1975), Csiszár und Körner (1978) formuliert. Jedoch ermöglicht erst der heutige technische Fortschritt, dass diese Ideen in zukünftigen Kommunikationssystemen Einzug finden können. Dies hat in den letzten Jahren zu einem gestiegenen Interesse an diesem Forschungsgebiet geführt. In der Arbeit werden zwei Ansätze zur abhörsicheren Datenübertragung in Funksystemen analysiert. Dies ist zum einen die direkte Übertragung der Information zum gewünschten Empfänger, wobei der Sender gleichzeitig die Zuverlässigkeit und die Abhörsicherheit der Übertragung sicherstellen muss. Zum anderen wird ein zweistufiger Ansatz betrachtet: Die beiden Kommunikationspartner handeln zunächst einen gemeinsamen sicheren Schlüssel aus, der anschließend zur Verschlüsselung der Datenübertragung verwendet wird. Bei diesem Ansatz werden die Abhörsicherheit und die Zuverlässigkeit der Information getrennt voneinander realisiert. Die Sicherheit der Nachrichten hängt maßgeblich davon ab, inwieweit zuverlässige Informationen oder verlässliche Annahmen über den Funkkanal zum Abhörer verfügbar sind. Die Annahme perfekter Kanalkenntnis ist für einen passiven Abhörer jedoch kaum zu rechtfertigen. Daher wird hier ein deterministisches Modell für die Unsicherheit über den Kanal zum Abhörer eingeführt, was zu einer Menge möglicher Abhörkanäle führt. Die Optimierung der sogenannten Worst-Case-Rate in einem Mehrantennensystem mit Gaußschem Rauschen wird für beide Ansätze betrachtet. Es wird analysiert, mit welcher Sendestrategie die maximale Rate erreicht werden kann, wenn gleichzeitig angenommen wird, dass der Abhörer den zugehörigen Worst-Case-Kanal besitzt, welcher die Rate der abhörsicheren Kommunikation jeweils auf ein Minimum reduziert. Für beide Ansätze wird gezeigt, dass aus dem resultierenden Max-Min-Problem über die Matrizen des Mehrantennensystems ein äquivalentes Problem über die Eigenwerte der Matrizen abgeleitet werden kann. Die optimale Ressourcenverteilung für eine Summenleistungsbeschränkung über alle Sendeantennen wird charakterisiert. Für den jeweiligen Worst-Case-Kanal zum Abhörer, dessen Kanalgewinne einer Summenbeschränkung unterliegen, werden Waterfilling-Lösungen hergeleitet. Es wird gezeigt, dass für hohen Signal-Rausch-Abstand (engl. signal-to-noise ratio, SNR) alle Raten gegen endliche Grenzwerte konvergieren, wenn die Antennenzahl des Abhörers nicht beschränkt ist. Die Grenzwerte werden durch die Quotienten der Eigenwerte der Gram-Matrizen beider Kanäle bestimmt. Für den Ratenanstieg der direkten Übertragung ist bei niedrigem SNR nur die Differenz dieser Eigenwerte maßgeblich, wohingegen für den Verschlüsselungsansatz in dem Fall keine Abhängigkeit vom Kanal des Abhörers besteht. Ein Vergleich zeigt, dass das aktuelle SNR und die Qualität des Abhörkanals den einen oder anderen Ansatz begünstigen. Die direkte Übertragung ist bei niedrigem SNR und verhältnismäßig schlechten Abhörkanälen überlegen, wohingegen der Verschlüsselungsansatz von hohem SNR und vergleichsweise guten Abhörkanälen profitiert. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit werden umfassend diskutiert und illustriert

    Novel Physical Layer Authentication Techniques for Secure Wireless Communications

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    Due to the open nature of radio propagation, information security in wireless communications has been facing more challenges compared to its counterpart in wired networks. Authentication, defined as an important aspect of information security, is the process of verifying the identity of transmitters to prevent against spoofing attacks. Traditionally, secure wireless communications is achieved by relying solely upon higher layer cryptographic mechanisms. However, cryptographic approaches based on complex mathematical calculations are inefficient and vulnerable to various types of attacks. Recently, researchers have shown that the unique properties of wireless channels can be exploited for authentication enhancement by providing additional security protection against spoofing attacks. Motivated by the vulnerability of existing higher-layer security techniques and the security advantages provided by exploring the physical link properties, five novel physical layer authentication techniques to enhance the security performance of wireless systems are proposed. The first technique exploits the inherent properties of CIR to achieve robust channel-based authentication. The second and third techniques utilize a long-range channel predictor and additional multipath delay characteristics, respectively, to enhance the CIR-based authentication. The fourth technique exploits the advantages of AF cooperative relaying to improve traditional channel-based authentication. The last technique employs an embedded confidential signaling link to secure the legitimate transmissions in OFDM systems

    Roadmap on multimode photonics

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    Multimode devices and components have attracted considerable attention in the last years, and different research topics and themes have emerged very recently. The multimodality can be seen as an additional degree of freedom in designing devices, thus allowing for the development of more complex and sophisticated components. The propagation of different modes can be used to increase the fiber optic capacity, but also to introduce novel intermodal interactions, as well as allowing for complex manipulation of optical modes for a variety of applications. In this roadmap we would like to give to the readers a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in the field, presenting contributions coming from different research topics, including optical fiber technologies, integrated optics, basic physics and telecommunications

    Foreword and editorial - May issue

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