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In this paper, we present a double-intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS)-assisted multiuser secure system where the inter-IRS channel is considered. In particular, we maximize the weighted sum secrecy rate of the system by jointly optimizing the beamforming vector for transmitted signal and artificial noise at the base station (BS) and the cooperative phase shifts of two IRSs, under the constraints of transmission power at the BS and the unit-modulus phase shift of IRSs. To tackle the nonconvexity of the optimization problem, we first convert the objective function to its concave lower bound by utilizing a novel successive convex approximation technique, then solve the transformed problem iteratively by applying an alternating optimization method. The Lagrange dual method, Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions, and alternating direction method of multipliers are applied to develop a low-complexity solution for each subproblem. Finally, simulation results are provided to verify the advantages of the cooperative double-IRS scheme in comparison with the benchmark schemes.

By optimizing the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) reflection coefficients, the channel capacity of legitimate users can be increased, thereby enhancing the anti-jamming performance of communication systems. However, existing studies on RIS-assisted anti-jamming assume that there is no coupling between the RIS reflection coefficients and the incident angle of electromagnetic (EM) waves, which is quite unreasonable. Therefore, we consider the effect of the incident angle of EM waves on the reflection coefficients of the RIS and propose a communication anti-jamming scheme assisted by an RIS with angular response. Specifically, a problem is formulated to optimize the RIS reflection coefficients so that the legitimate signal is amplified, but the jamming signal is attenuated, thus enhancing the legitimate channel capacity. However, the coupling of the EM incident angle and the RIS reflection coefficients causes the problem to be non-convex. To tackle this problem, we equivalently transform the RIS reflection coefficients optimization problem into a quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problem using the complex Taylor expansion and the multidimensional complex quadratic transform (MCQT) and solve it utilizing the alternating direction method of the multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. The simulation results reveal that, compared to other schemes supported by RIS without angular response, the proposed scheme is able to achieve a significant improvement in the anti-jamming performance.

In this work, we investigate a novel intelligent surface-assisted multiuser multiple-input single-output multiple-eavesdropper (MU-MISOME) secure communication network where an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is deployed to enhance the secrecy performance and an intelligent transmission surface (ITS)-based transmitter is utilized to perform energy-efficient beamforming. A weighted sum secrecy rate (WSSR) maximization problem is developed by jointly optimizing transmit power allocation, ITS beamforming, and IRS phase shift. To solve this problem, we transform the objective function into an approximated concave form by using the successive convex approximation (SCA) technique. Then, we propose an efficient alternating optimization (AO) algorithm to solve the reformulated problem in an iterative way, where Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions, the alternating direction method of the multiplier (ADMM), and majorization–minimization (MM) methods are adopted to derive the closed-form solution for each subproblem. Finally, simulation results are given to verify the convergence and secrecy performance of the proposed schemes.

Abstract This paper investigates a three‐node proactive eavesdropping system with the aid of intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), where a monitor tries to wiretap information and transmit jamming signals simultaneously to interfere with the suspicious link. The IRS is deployed around the suspicious users to reconstruct propagation channel. Meanwhile, with large low‐cost passive reflecting elements, it can provide more spatial degrees of freedom to moderate the link quality. In order to degrade exposure risk of eavesdropping behavior, the authors' objective is to minimize the jamming power by carefully designing jamming beamforming vectors and the phase shifts under the constraint of reliable intercepted information. The formulated problem is non‐trivial to solve due to the coupling variables and unit‐modulus constraints. Fortunately, by using alternating optimization and successive convex approximation techniques, the original problem is transformed into convex form and a sub‐optimal solution is achieved. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme can effectively reduce the jamming power and the number of the jamming antennas over benchmark schemes, which is quite suitable for covertly overhearing signal.

Abstract The existing secret key generation (SKG) techniques are not applicable for frequency division duplex (FDD) Internet of Things networks due to the low power constraints and limited computing resources. This letter proposes a SKG scheme based on the channel covariance matrix in FDD systems. First of all, a novel algorithm is proposed for inferring the downlink channel covariance matrix from the observed uplink channel covariance matrix with the aid of the transformation matrix. Then, a complete SKG scheme for low‐power terminals in FDD systems is designed to generate keys from the downlink channel covariance matrix. Finally, simulation results show that this scheme can generate high‐agreement secret keys in FDD systems. Compared with the loopback mechanism‐based SKG scheme, this scheme is suitable for low‐power terminals and can achieve significant performance improvement in terms of the key disagreement ratio.

Abstract This paper studies multi‐antenna covert communication exploiting a public communication link over the wireless fading channel. In particular, a relatively practical covert communication scenario is considered for the first time, where a warden with radiometer may improve its detection accuracy by jointly detecting uplink covert pilot and downlink covert communication. To this end, a joint covert communication system, jointly considering uplink covert pilot, imperfect channel state information issue and downlink covert communication, is proposed and further studied. Specifically, the detection performance of warden and the covertness performance of system are comprehensively studied, respectively. Afterwards, an optimization problem for covert capacity is formulated to maximize overall performance. Then, with our analysis and simplification, an optimal power allocation algorithm is designed for covert capacity accordingly. Our examination shows a win‐win situation has been achieved in the proposed system, that is, covert communication would rarely affect the normal communication of public link and occupy its communication resources. Interestingly enough, we analytically find an invariance property of downlink covert communication that covertness performance is not impacted by noise levels or warden's position. Based on this extraordinary finding, we conclude that the downlink covert communication system can perfectly combat with a powerful warden adopting power trend test method, while the joint covert communication system may resist that through a pilot deception scheme.

In this paper, we investigate the physical layer key generation scheme in most realistic scenarios where the correlation between the legitimate channel and the eavesdropping channel is considered. To degrade the correlation and improve the key generation capacity, a physical layer key generation scheme through scrambling the correlated eavesdropping channel is proposed. Firstly, the artificial noise is sent superimposed over pilots from the legitimate transmitter to confuse the eavesdropper. The artificial noise precoding matrix is randomly selected from decomposed unitary matrices orthogonal to the legitimate channel resulting in having no effect on legitimate channel. Then, the vector quantization algorithm and the winnow algorithm are respectively applied to quantize the channel characteristic and negotiate the generated random sequences to generate the final key. To further support the performance, we next present a power optimization scheme allocated to sending the artificial noise to maximize the generated key capacity under the total transmission power constraint. Finally, simulation results are presented to validate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.

Physical-layer key generation technology requires information reconciliation to correct channel estimation errors between two legitimate users. However, sending the reconciliation signals over the public channel increases the communication overhead and the risk of information leakage. Aiming at the problem, integrated secure communication schemes using non-reconciled keys have attracted extensive attention. These schemes exploit channel coding to correct both inconsistent keys and transmission error bits. Meanwhile, more redundant code bits must be added to correct errors, which results in a lower secure transmission rate. To address the problem, we analyze the merit of channel correlation between non-reconciled key generation and secure transmission. Inspired by this, we propose a non-reconciled physical-layer keys-assisted secure communication scheme based on channel correlation. First of all, the signal frame is designed to make use of channel correlation between non-reconciled key generation and secure transmission. Based on the channel correlation, non-reconciled keys are then generated from the wireless channel to encrypt transmitted data. Moreover, an adaptive coding algorithm based on the equivalent channel is presented to encode the data bits before encryption, to guarantee reliable transmission. Finally, theoretical analysis and simulations demonstrate the significant performance of the proposed scheme in terms of low bit error ratio and high secure transmission rate.

When the eavesdropping channel has a certain correlation with the legitimate channel, the physical layer key is susceptible to eavesdroppers. To ensure the security of the secret key, we propose a two-layer secure (TLS) quantization algorithm in this paper. First, we model the correlation between the distance and the channel correlation and derive the joint probability density function of channel phase and the key capacity. Then, we describe the detail of the TLS algorithm and prove the validity of our algorithm. Finally, we evaluate the performances of the TLS quantization algorithm using two parameters-key rate and bit disagreement rate. The Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Millimeter wave (mm-wave) communications, especially mm-wave relay systems, have been considered as a key technology for next-generation wireless networks due to the rich spectrum resources. However, the problem of information leakage in mm-wave relay systems has not been well investigated. In this paper, artificial noise (AN) aided two-stage secure hybrid beamforming algorithm is proposed in MIMO mm-wave relay system from the perspective of physical layer security. In each time slot of the relay communications, the RF analog beamforming matrices are designed in the first stage, and baseband digital beamforming matrices are designed in the second stage. Through the proposed algorithm, the joint optimization is avoided and the feedback is reduced, which brings low complexity. Moreover, the AN is applied to fight against the eavesdropper by deteriorating the eavesdropping channel. The simulation results show that the proposed hybrid beamforming algorithm considerably improves the performance and achieves a balance between complexity and performance.

Under the case of imperfect channel state information (CSI), this paper investigates the robust secrecy energy efficiency (SEE) optimization for the heterogeneous networks (HeNets) supported by simultaneous wireless information and power transfer. Specifically, we first consider a two-tier HeNet composed of a macrocell base station (MBS) and several femtocell base stations (FBSs), where the MBS serves multiple macrocell users (MUs) while each FBS serves an information receiver (IR) and an multiple-antenna energy receiver (ER). Meanwhile, a malicious multiple-antenna eavesdropper (Eve) attempts to wiretap the downlink information of MUs and the ER acts as a potential Eve to eavesdrop the confidential information for IR in the same femtocell. To enhance the secrecy performance, artificial noise (AN) is injected into the downlink information beams of the MBS and FBSs. By considering the user fairness, the problem of SEE maximization of the whole network is formulated via a cross-tier multi-cell coordinated beamforming design. The resulting problem contains infinite constraints caused by CSI error, which is nonconvex and cannot be solved directly. To this regard, we resort to the successive convex approximation, S-procedure and semi-definite relaxation techniques to obtain a solvable form of it. Furthermore, to reduce the overhead of information exchange among coordinated BSs, we develop a distributed solution based on alternative direction multiplier method (ADMM) that can achieve a good approximation performance. Finally, simulation results verify the validity of the proposed AN-aided cross-tier multi-cell coordinated beamforming design and distributed ADMM-based design.

Authentication is a critical issue in wireless communication due to the impersonation and substitution attacks from the vulnerable air interface launched by the malicious node. There are currently two kinds of authentication research in wireless communication. One is based on cryptography and relies on computational complexity, the other is based on physical layer fingerprint and can not protect data integrity well. Both of these approaches will become insecure when facing attackers with infinite computing power. In this paper, we develop a wireless unconditional authentication framework based on one-time keys generated from wireless channel. The proposed unconditional authentication framework provides a new perspective to resist infinite computing power attackers. We study the performance of the unconditional authentication framework in this paper. First, a physical layer offered chain key (PHYLOCK) structure is proposed, which can provide one-time keys for unconditional authentication. The physical layer offered chain keys are generated by XORing the physical layer updated keys extracted from the current channel state information (CSI) and the previous chain keys. The security of PHYLOCK is analyzed from the perspective of information theory. Then, the boundary of the deception probability is conducted. It is shown that unconditional authentication can achieve a probability of deception 2−12Hk, where Hk is the entropy of the one-time key used for one message. Finally, the conditions for unconditional authentication are listed. Our analysis shows that the length of the key and the authentication code need to be twice the length of the message and the encoding rules of the authentication code need to satisfy the restrictions we listed.

In this paper, we propose an improved physical layer key generation scheme that can maximize the secret key capacity by deploying intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) near the legitimate user aiming at improving its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We consider the scenario of multiple input single output (MISO) against multiple relevant eavesdroppers. We elaborately design and optimize the reflection coefficient matrix of IRS elements that can improve the legitimate user’s SNR through IRS passive beamforming and deteriorate the channel quality of eavesdroppers at the same time. We first derive the lower bound expression of the achievable key capacity, then solve the optimization problem based on semi-definite relaxation (SDR) and the convex–concave procedure (CCP) to maximize the secret key capacity. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme can significantly improve the secret key capacity and reduce hardware costs compared with other benchmark schemes.

Co-prime linear arrays (CLAs) provide an additional degree of freedom (DOF) with a limited number of physical sensors, and thus help to improve the resolution of direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms. However, the DOF of traditional CLA is restrained by the structure of the array, which cannot be adjusted after deployment. In this paper, we propose a DOA estimation algorithm for reconfigurable intelligent surface co-prime linear array (RIS CLA) based on the multiple signal classification approach. Specifically, an RIS CLA is first constructed on the ground of RIS antenna, by turning on/off specific elements at different times. Then, the covariance matrix of the received signal is vectorized, so as to construct a virtual difference array, whose aperture is considerably expanded. Finally, a spectral peak search on the noise subspace of the received signal of the difference array is conducted to obtain the DOA estimation result. Simulations verify the improvement of the proposed algorithm in terms of DOF and resolution. To be specific, the DOF provided by RIS CLA outnumbers that of CLA by more than 30%, and the resolution of the proposed DOA estimation algorithm is effectively improved, with its accuracy increased up to 70% under the low signal-noise-ratio (SNR) scenario, compared with existing algorithms.

Resource allocation in secure communication is of primary importance due to the fact that the next-generation wireless network (5G) aims to achieve high spectral efficiency and a high level of security. Different from previous studies, we study the resource allocation for secure transmission in K-tier dynamic heterogeneous cellular networks jointly considering the randomness of base stations (BSs) in spatial dimension and user equipment (UE) arrival and departure processes in temporal dimension. First, we develop a 3-D stochastic model by jointly taking into account the randomness of BSs in two spatial dimensions and UE arrival and departure processes in one temporal dimension. Second, we analyze the connection outage probability and secrecy outage probability of the typical UE. Their expressions admit quite simple closed-forms in some plausible special cases. Based on the outage analysis, the reliability and security performances of the network are evaluated, respectively. Third, we investigate the network-wide secrecy throughput in virtue of the outage analysis. Furthermore, we derive the optimal resource allocation factors of different tiers to maximize the secrecy throughput. Since the objective function of the maximization problem is not in closed form and non-convex, the concave upper and lower bounds are deduced and utilized, which leads to near-optimal solutions of the resource allocation factors of different tiers. It is demonstrated that apart from the spatial intensity and transmission power of each BS, UE arrival and departure processes are also key elements influencing the resource allocation factors of different tiers. Finally, numerical results show the usefulness and correctness of our theoretical conclusions.

This paper investigates the pilot signal design for a massive multiple-input multiple-out (MIMO) frequency division duplexing downlink system by taking the channel spatial correlation into account. Our objective is to optimize the pilot pattern, including the pilot power and structure, from the perspective of energy-efficient communication, which can evaluate the channel estimation accuracy, spectral efficiency, and power consumption simultaneously. The original problem is established based on maximizing the energy efficiency (EE) with a predefined quality-of-service requirement and the total power budget, where the involved cost function is in a nonanalytic form with the non-convex nature. To solve it, an analytical expression is derived first by the virtue of the deterministic equivalent approximation technology, which is shown to be a tight approximation. Based on this, the structure of the EE maximization-based pilot signal matrix is proved to be column orthogonal, where the column corresponds to the dominant eigendirections of channel spatial correlation matrix. By use of the derived pilot structure, the primal non-convex fractional optimization problem is recast to an equivalent optimization problem with the objective function in a subtractive form, which can be solved by deliberately manipulating the Lagrangian function. Finally, an iterative algorithm is proposed to obtain the closed-form solution and further insights are extracted. Numerical results validate the performance gain of our proposed near-optimal pilot scheme in terms of the energy efficiency and spectral efficiency compared with the classical mean squared error-based pilot scheme.

This paper investigates the physical layer security in heterogeneous networks (HetNets) supported by simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). We first consider a two-tier HetNet composed of a macrocell and several femtocells, where the macrocell base station (BS) serves multiple users in the presence of a malicious eavesdropper, while each femtocell BS serves a couple of Internet-of-Things (IoT) users. With regard to the energy constraint of IoT users, SWIPT is performed at the femtocell BSs, and IoT users accomplish the reception of information and energy in a time-switching manner, where information secrecy is to be protected. To enhance the secrecy performance, we inject artificial noise (AN) into the transmit beam at both macrocell and femtocell BSs, and for the sake of achieving green communications, we formulate the problem of maximizing secrecy energy efficiency while considering the fairness in a cross-tier multi-cell coordinated beamforming (MCBF) design. To handle this resulting nonconvex max-min fractional program problem, we propose an iterative algorithm by applying successive convex approximation method. Then, we further develop a decentralized solution based on alternative direction multiplier method (ADMM), which reduces the overhead of information exchange among coordinated BSs and achieves good approximation performance. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed AN-aided cross-tier MCBF design and verify the validity of distributed ADMM-based approach.

This paper investigates the physical-layer security of uplink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) in the cellular Internet of Things (IoT) with invoking stochastic geometry. Poisson cluster process-based model is applied to characterize the NOMA uplink transmission scenario, where IoT terminals are located around the serving base station. Considering the severe interference brought by a large number of IoT terminals, inter-cell interference is also taken into account. To enhance the physical-layer security of uplink NOMA transmission with limited overhead increment at IoT terminals, the base stations not only receive the signals from IoT terminals but also keep emitting jamming signals all the time to degrade the performance of any potential eavesdroppers. In order to characterize the physical-layer security performances, we derive expressions of coverage probability and secrecy outage probability. To obtain further insights, network-wide secrecy throughput (NST) and network-wide secrecy energy efficiency (NSEE) are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the security performance can be improved by the proposed full-duplex base station jamming scheme at the cost of reliable performance. The analytical and simulation results show the effects of BS intensity and jamming power on network performances. We also verify that NST and NSEE can be significantly enhanced by our proposed scheme. Using these results, the security of confidential information transmitted by low-complexity IoT terminals can be protected from overhearing.

Abstract Device-to-device (D2D) communication has been deemed as a promising technology in the next generation 5G wireless communication. Due to the openness nature of the transmission medium, secure transmission is also a critical issue in the D2D-enabled cellular network as well as other wireless systems. In this paper, we investigate secure communication for the cellular downlink in this hybrid network. We consider a case in which each base station has no channel state information (CSI) from D2D transmitters which are generally deployed in the cell edge. To guarantee the secure communication of the cellular link, each base station employs the artificial noise assisted transmission strategy. Firstly, we derive the close-form expression and asymptotic expression of the secrecy outage probability of the cellular link in different scenarios: (I) eavesdroppers having no multi-user decedability; (II) eavesdroppers having the multi-user decedability. Then, we comprehensively discuss the impacts of some main system parameters on the performance to provide some system design guidances. To characterize the reliable communication of the typical D2D link, the close-form expression and asymptotic expression of the connection outage probability are, respectively, derived and some comprehensive analysis are presented. Finally, simulation results are provided to validate the effectiveness of theoretical analysis.

Abstract In the original publication [1] the name of author Yajun Chen was spelled wrong. The original article was updated to rectify this error.