On Secrecy Performance of Antenna Selection Aided MIMO Systems Against Eavesdropping

In this paper, we consider a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system consisting of one source, one destination and one eavesdropper, where each node is equipped with an arbitrary number of antennas. To improve the security of source-destination transmissions, we investigate the antenna selection at the source and propose the optimal antenna selection (OAS) and suboptimal antenna selection (SAS) schemes, depending on whether the source node has the global channel state information (CSI) of both the main link (from source to destination) and wiretap link (from source to eavesdropper). Also, the traditional space-time transmission (STT) is studied as a benchmark. We evaluate the secrecy performance of STT, SAS, and OAS schemes in terms of the probability of zero secrecy capacity. Furthermore, we examine the generalized secrecy diversity of STT, SAS, and OAS schemes through an asymptotic analysis of the probability of zero secrecy capacity, as the ratio between the average gains of the main and wiretap channels tends to infinity. This is different from the conventional secrecy diversity which assumes an infinite signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) received at the destination under the condition that the eavesdropper has a finite received SNR. It is shown that the generalized secrecy diversity orders of STT, SAS, and OAS schemes are the product of the number of antennas at source and destination. Additionally, numerical results show that the proposed OAS scheme strictly outperforms both the STT and SAS schemes in terms of the probability of zero secrecy capacity.Comment: 11 pages; IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 201

Buffer-Aided Relay Selection Algorithms for Physical-Layer Security in Wireless Networks

In this work, we consider the use of buffer-aided relays, linear precoding techniques and multiple antennas for physical-layer security in wireless networks. We develop relay selection algorithms to improve the secrecy-rate performance of cooperative multi-user multiple-antenna wireless networks. In particular, we propose a novel finite buffer-aided relay selection algorithm that employs the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion to select sets of relays which fully exploit the flexibility offered by relay nodes equipped with buffers. Numerical results show the benefits of the proposed techniques as compared to prior art.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures in WSA 201

Large-Scale MIMO Relaying Techniques for Physical Layer Security: AF or DF?

In this paper, we consider a large scale multiple input multiple output (LS-MIMO) relaying system, where an information source sends the message to its intended destination aided by an LS-MIMO relay, while a passive eavesdropper tries to intercept the information forwarded by the relay. The advantage of a large scale antenna array is exploited to improve spectral efficiency and enhance wireless security. In particular, the challenging issue incurred by short-distance interception is well addressed. Under very practical assumptions, i.e., no eavesdropper channel state information (CSI) and imperfect legitimate CSI at the relay, this paper gives a thorough secrecy performance analysis and comparison of two classic relaying techniques, i.e., amplify-and-forward (AF) and decode-and-forward (DF). Furthermore, asymptotical analysis is carried out to provide clear insights on the secrecy performance for such an LS-MIMO relaying system. We show that under large transmit powers, AF is a better choice than DF from the perspectives of both secrecy performance and implementation complexity, and prove that there exits an optimal transmit power at medium regime that maximizes the secrecy outage capacity.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1401.304

Multi-Antenna Relay Aided Wireless Physical Layer Security

With growing popularity of mobile Internet, providing secure wireless services has become a critical issue. Physical layer security (PHY-security) has been recognized as an effective means to enhance wireless security by exploiting wireless medium characteristics, e.g., fading, noise, and interference. A particularly interesting PHY-security technology is cooperative relay due to the fact that it helps to provide distributed diversity and shorten access distance. This article offers a tutorial on various multi-antenna relaying technologies to improve security at physical layer. The state of the art research results on multi-antenna relay aided PHY-security as well as some secrecy performance optimization schemes are presented. In particular, we focus on large-scale MIMO (LS-MIMO) relaying technology, which is effective to tackle various challenging issues for implementing wireless PHY-security, such as short-distance interception without eavesdropper channel state information (CSI) and with imperfect legitimate CSI. Moreover, the future directions are identified for further enhancement of secrecy performance.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, IEEE Communications Magazine, 201

Study of Relay Selection for Physical-Layer Security in Buffer-Aided Relay Networks Based on the Secrecy Rate Criterion

In this paper, we investigate an opportunistic relay and jammer scheme along with relay selection algorithms based on the secrecy rate criterion in multiple-input multiple-output buffer-aided down link relay networks, which consist of one source, a number of relay nodes, legitimate users and eavesdroppers, with the constraints of physical layer security. The opportunistic relay and jammer scheme is employed to improve the transmission rate and different relay selection policies are performed to achieve better secrecy rate with the consideration of eavesdroppers. Among all the investigated relay selection policies, a relay selection policy which is developed to maximize the secrecy rate based on exhaustive searches outperforms other relay selection policies in terms of secrecy rate. Based on the secrecy rate criterion, we develop a relay selection algorithm without knowledge of the channels of the eavesdroppers. We also devise a greedy search algorithm based on the secrecy rate criterion to reduce the computational complexity of the exhaustive search technique. Simulations show the superiority of the secrecy rate criterion over competing approaches.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Study of Opportunistic Cooperation Techniques using Jamming and Relays for Physical-Layer Security in Buffer-aided Relay Networks

In this paper, we investigate opportunistic relay and jammer cooperation schemes in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) buffer-aided relay networks. The network consists of one source, an arbitrary number of relay nodes, legitimate users and eavesdroppers, with the constraints of physical layer security. We propose an algorithm to select a set of relay nodes to enhance the legitimate users' transmission and another set of relay nodes to perform jamming of the eavesdroppers. With Inter-Relay interference (IRI) taken into account, interference cancellation can be implemented to assist the transmission of the legitimate users. Secondly, IRI can also be used to further increase the level of harm of the jamming signal to the eavesdroppers. By exploiting the fact that the jamming signal can be stored at the relay nodes, we also propose a hybrid algorithm to set a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) threshold at the node to determine the type of signal stored at the relay node. With this separation, the signals with high SINR are delivered to the users as conventional relay systems and the low SINR performance signals are stored as potential jamming signals. Simulation results show that the proposed techniques obtain a significant improvement in secrecy rate over previously reported algorithms.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Improving Physical-Layer Security in Wireless Communications Using Diversity Techniques

Due to the broadcast nature of radio propagation, the wireless transmission can be readily overheard by unauthorized users for interception purposes and is thus highly vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks. To this end, physical-layer security is emerging as a promising paradigm to protect the wireless communications against eavesdropping attacks by exploiting the physical characteristics of wireless channels. This article is focused on the investigation of diversity techniques to improve the physical-layer security, differing from the conventional artificial noise generation and beamforming techniques which typically consume additional power for generating artificial noise and exhibit high implementation complexity for beamformer design. We present several diversity approaches to improve the wireless physical-layer security, including the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), multiuser diversity, and cooperative diversity. To illustrate the security improvement through diversity, we propose a case study of exploiting cooperative relays to assist the signal transmission from source to destination while defending against eavesdropping attacks. We evaluate the security performance of cooperative relay transmission in Rayleigh fading environments in terms of secrecy capacity and intercept probability. It is shown that as the number of relays increases, the secrecy capacity and intercept probability of the cooperative relay transmission both improve significantly, implying the advantage of exploiting cooperative diversity to improve the physical-layer security against eavesdropping attacks.Comment: IEEE Network Magazine, 201

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Secure Communications in Large-Scale MIMO Relaying Systems

In this paper, we address the problem of energy-efficient power allocation for secure communications in an amplify-and-forward (AF) large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (LS-MIMO) relaying system in presence of a passive eavesdropper. The benefits of an AF LS-MIMO relay are exploited to significantly improve the secrecy performance, especially the secrecy energy efficiency (bit per Joule). We first analyze the impact of transmit power at the relay on the secrecy outage capacity, and prove that the secrecy outage capacity is a concave function of transmit power under very practical assumptions, i.e. no eavesdropper channel state information (CSI) and imperfect legitimate CSI. Then, we propose an energy-efficient power allocation scheme to maximize the secrecy energy efficiency. Finally, simulation results validate the advantage of the proposed energy-efficient scheme compared to the capacity maximization scheme.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Recent Advances in Cloud Radio Access Networks: System Architectures, Key Techniques, and Open Issues

As a promising paradigm to reduce both capital and operating expenditures, the cloud radio access network (C-RAN) has been shown to provide high spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. Motivated by its significant theoretical performance gains and potential advantages, C-RANs have been advocated by both the industry and research community. This paper comprehensively surveys the recent advances of C-RANs, including system architectures, key techniques, and open issues. The system architectures with different functional splits and the corresponding characteristics are comprehensively summarized and discussed. The state-of-the-art key techniques in C-RANs are classified as: the fronthaul compression, large-scale collaborative processing, and channel estimation in the physical layer; and the radio resource allocation and optimization in the upper layer. Additionally, given the extensiveness of the research area, open issues and challenges are presented to spur future investigations, in which the involvement of edge cache, big data mining, social-aware device-to-device, cognitive radio, software defined network, and physical layer security for C-RANs are discussed, and the progress of testbed development and trial test are introduced as well.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figure

On Secure Mixed RF-FSO Systems With TAS and Imperfect CSI

In this work, we analyze the secrecy outage performance of a dual-hop relay system composed of multiple-input-multiple-output radio-frequency (RF) links and a free-space optical (FSO) link while a multiple-antenna eavesdropper wiretaps the confidential information by decoding the received signals from the resource node. The channel state information (CSI) of the RF and FSO links is considered to be outdated. We propose three transmit antenna selection (TAS) schemes to enhance the secrecy performance of the considered systems. The secrecy outage performance with different TAS schemes is analyzed and the effects of misalignment and detection technology on the secrecy outage performance of mixed systems are studied. We derive the closed-form expressions for probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) over M\'alaga channel with imperfect CSI. Then the closed-form expressions for the CDF and PDF of the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the legitimate receiver over Nakagami-$m$ and M\'alaga channels are derived. Furthermore, the lower bound of the secrecy outage probability (SOP) with different TAS schemes are derived. Besides, the asymptotic results for SOP are investigated by exploiting the unfolding of Meijer's $G$-function when the electrical SNR of FSO link approaches infinity. Finally, Monte-Carlo simulation results are presented to testify the correctness of the proposed analysis. The results illustrate that the outdated CSI shows a strong effect on the secrecy outage performance. In addition, increasing the number of antennas at the source cannot significantly enhance the secrecy performance of the considered systems.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in the IEEE Transactions on Communication