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Vehicle‐to‐everything communication systems play a crucial role in enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency through vehicle and roadside infrastructure interactions. To provide robust defences against external threats in secure and trustworthy information exchange, these systems utilise public key infrastructure to authenticate vehicle‐to‐everything participant identities with digital certificates and security credential management systems to administer these certificates and encryption keys. However, even with these defences, vulnerabilities persist, particularly from vehicles with legitimate certificates that may malfunction or be exploited for malicious purposes. To address these issues, this paper introduces a misbehaviour detection (MBD) system, notable for its combined use of local and global MBD algorithms. This system is specifically designed to combat both conventional and novel threats, including slander attacks, in which vehicles with legitimate certificates may be falsely accused, and sophisticated attacks targeting the global MBD system itself. The efficacy of our MBD system was rigorously validated at K‐City, the leading autonomous vehicle technology testing facility in Korea, demonstrating its ability to identify and counter internal misbehaviours precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Vehicle‐to‐everything communication systems play a crucial role in enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency through vehicle and roadside infrastructure interactions. To provide robust defences against external threats in secure and trustworthy information exchange, these systems utilise public key infrastructure to authenticate vehicle‐to‐everything participant identities with digital certificates and security credential management systems to administer these certificates and encryption keys. However, even with these defences, vulnerabilities persist, particularly from vehicles with legitimate certificates that may malfunction or be exploited for malicious purposes. To address these issues, this paper introduces a misbehaviour detection (MBD) system, notable for its combined use of local and global MBD algorithms. This system is specifically designed to combat both conventional and novel threats, including slander attacks, in which vehicles with legitimate certificates may be falsely accused, and sophisticated attacks targeting the global MBD system itself. The efficacy of our MBD system was rigorously validated at K‐City, the leading autonomous vehicle technology testing facility in Korea, demonstrating its ability to identify and counter internal misbehaviours precisely.

Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides a method of ensuring security using the laws of physics, avoiding the risks inherent in cryptosystems protected by computational complexity. Here, the authors investigate the feasibility of satellite‐based quantum key exchange using low‐cost compact nano‐satellites. The first prototype of system level quantum key distribution aimed at the Cube satellite scenario is demonstrated. It consists of a transmitter payload, a ground receiver and simulated free space channel to verify the timing and synchronisation (T&S) scheme designed for QKD and the required high loss tolerance of both QKD and T&S channels. The transmitter is designed to be deployed on various up‐coming nano‐satellite missions in the UK and internationally. The effects of channel loss, background noise, gate width and mean photon number on the secure key rate (SKR) and quantum bit error rate (QBER) are discussed. The authors also analyse the source of QBER and establish the relationship between effective signal noise ratio (ESNR) and noise level, signal strength, gating window and other parameters as a reference for SKR optimisation. The experiment shows that it can tolerate the 40 dB loss expected in space to ground QKD and with small adjustment decoy states can be achieved. The discussion offers valuable insight not only for the design and optimisation of miniature low‐cost satellite‐based QKD systems but also any other short or long range free space QKD on the ground or in the air.

Abstract The authors study the energy efficiency (EE) of ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) device‐assisted and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)‐assisted non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) downlinks. The authors establish two optimisation problems based on the two collaborative devices (AmBC devices, RIS) with the objective of maximising the EE of the system, taking into account the requirements of power limitation and rate limitation, etc. and also obtain the solutions of two problems by optimising the relevant performance metrics based on the alternating optimisation algorithm. For the backscatter device (BD)‐aided downlink NOMA network, the problem is first decoupled into three subproblems, where the power allocation optimisation subproblem is solved by using the quadratic transformation method and the subgradient algorithm. The maximum EE is obtained by iterating according to the Dinkelbach's algorithm. For the RIS‐aided downlink NOMA network, the power allocation problem is solved by the same method as above and the phase optimisation problem is solved by the successive convex approximation method. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve convergence after several iterations, and the EE of systems with BD‐assisted and RIS‐assisted have different levels of sensitivity to different influencing factors.

The authors study the energy efficiency (EE) of ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) device‐assisted and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS)‐assisted non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) downlinks. The authors establish two optimisation problems based on the two collaborative devices (AmBC devices, RIS) with the objective of maximising the EE of the system, taking into account the requirements of power limitation and rate limitation, etc. and also obtain the solutions of two problems by optimising the relevant performance metrics based on the alternating optimisation algorithm. For the backscatter device (BD)‐aided downlink NOMA network, the problem is first decoupled into three subproblems, where the power allocation optimisation subproblem is solved by using the quadratic transformation method and the subgradient algorithm. The maximum EE is obtained by iterating according to the Dinkelbach's algorithm. For the RIS‐aided downlink NOMA network, the power allocation problem is solved by the same method as above and the phase optimisation problem is solved by the successive convex approximation method. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve convergence after several iterations, and the EE of systems with BD‐assisted and RIS‐assisted have different levels of sensitivity to different influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses theories of industrial policy to assess the development of China's 5G telecommunications equipment policy. It considers the path China's 5G build-out has taken, and American security concerns in reaction to several nations' potential adoption of China's latest generation of communications equipment. It focuses on several East, South, and Southeast Asian countries and their decisions on whether or not to incorporate China's 5G technology for their networks. It concludes with assessment of future paths in the Sino-US competition over 5G and later generation communications systems adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fake base stations comprise a critical security issue in mobile networking. A fake base station exploits vulnerabilities in the broadcast message announcing a base station's presence, which is called SIB1 in 4G LTE and 5G NR, to get user equipment to connect to the fake base station. Once connected, the fake base station can deprive the user of connectivity and access to the Internet/cloud. We discovered that a fake base station can disable the victim user equipment's connectivity for an indefinite period of time, which we validated using our threat prototype against current 4G/5G practices. We designed and built a defense scheme which detects and blacklists a fake base station and then, informed by the detection, avoids it through link routing for connectivity availability. For detection and blacklisting, our scheme uses the real-time information of both the time duration and the number of request transmissions, the features of which are directly impacted by the fake base station's threat and which have not been studied in previous research. Upon detection, our scheme takes an active measure called link routing, which is a novel concept in mobile/4G/5G networking, where the user equipment routes the connectivity request to another base station. To defend against a Sybil-capable fake base station, we use a history–reputation-based link routing scheme for routing and base station selection. We implemented both the base station and the user on software-defined radios using open-source 5G software (srsRAN v23.10 and Open5GS v2.6.6) for validation. We varied the base station implementation to simulate legitimate vs. faulty but legitimate vs. fake and malicious base stations, where a faulty base station notifies the user of the connectivity disruption and releases the session, while a fake base station continues to hold the session. We empirically analyzed the detection and identification thresholds, which vary with the fake base station's power and the channel condition. By strategically selecting the threshold parameters, our scheme provides zero errors, including zero false positives, to avoid blacklisting a temporarily faulty base station that cannot provide connectivity at the time. Furthermore, our link routing scheme enables the base station to switch in order to restore the connectivity availability and limit the threat impact. We also discuss future directions to facilitate and encourage R&D in securing telecommunications and base station security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The rapidly developing discipline of quantum computing (QC) employs ideas from quantum physics to improve the performance of traditional computers and other devices. Because of the dramatically improved speed at which it processes data, it can be applied to various issues. QC has many potential applications, but three of the most exciting applications are unstructured search, quantum simulation, and network optimisation. Several existing technologies, such as machine learning, may benefit from its increased speed and precision. In this study, the authors will explore how the principles of QC might be applied to the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve its accuracy, speed, and security. Several approaches exist for achieving this goal, such as network optimisation in IoT using QC, faster computation at IoT endpoints, securing IoT using QC, a quantum sensor for IoT, quantum digital marketing, quantum‐secured smart lock etc.

Abstract Communication security has become particularly crucial with the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technology, a prevalent method in wireless communication, has a wide range of applications in the Internet of Things. Enhancing the security of frequency hopping sequences is an essential means to improve the security of frequency hopping communication in the Internet of Things, as the performance of frequency hopping sequences plays a crucial role in frequency hopping systems. This paper proposes constructing secure adaptive frequency hopping sequence sets based on the advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm. As a block cipher algorithm with superior security, the AES algorithm can provide a fundamental guarantee for the security of the proposed frequency hopping sequences. The mapping methods from ciphertext sequences to frequency hopping sequences proposed in this paper can achieve the construction of frequency hopping sequences of any frequency set size to meet the requirements of adaptive frequency hopping. In addition, we also model and analyse the problem of overlapping spectrum band of the IoT groups in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, aiming to achieve better packet transmission performance by adjusting the frequency set size.

Abstract Malicious domains provide malware with covert communication channels which poses a severe threat to cybersecurity. Despite the continuous progress in detecting malicious domains with various machine learning algorithms, maintaining up‐to‐date various samples with fine‐labeled data for training is difficult. To handle these issues and improve the detection accuracy, a novel malicious domain detection method named MDND‐SS‐PO is proposed that combines semi‐supervised learning and parameter optimization. The contributions of the study are as follows. First, the method extracts the statistical features of the IP address, TTL value, the NXDomain record, and the domain name query characteristics to discriminate Domain‐Flux and Fast‐Flux domain names simultaneously. Second, an improved DBSCAN based on the neighborhood division is designed to cluster labeled data and unlabeled data with low time consumption. Then, based on the clustering hypothesis, unlabeled data is tagged with pseudo‐label according to the cluster results, which aims to train a supervised classifier effectively. Finally, Gaussian process regression is used to optimize parameter settings of the algorithm. And the Silhouette index and F1 score are introduced to evaluate the optimization results. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieved a precise detection performance of 0.885 when the ratio of labeled data is 5%.

Communication security has become particularly crucial with the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technology, a prevalent method in wireless communication, has a wide range of applications in the Internet of Things. Enhancing the security of frequency hopping sequences is an essential means to improve the security of frequency hopping communication in the Internet of Things, as the performance of frequency hopping sequences plays a crucial role in frequency hopping systems. This paper proposes constructing secure adaptive frequency hopping sequence sets based on the advanced encryption standard (AES) algorithm. As a block cipher algorithm with superior security, the AES algorithm can provide a fundamental guarantee for the security of the proposed frequency hopping sequences. The mapping methods from ciphertext sequences to frequency hopping sequences proposed in this paper can achieve the construction of frequency hopping sequences of any frequency set size to meet the requirements of adaptive frequency hopping. In addition, we also model and analyse the problem of overlapping spectrum band of the IoT groups in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, aiming to achieve better packet transmission performance by adjusting the frequency set size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malicious domains provide malware with covert communication channels which poses a severe threat to cybersecurity. Despite the continuous progress in detecting malicious domains with various machine learning algorithms, maintaining up‐to‐date various samples with fine‐labeled data for training is difficult. To handle these issues and improve the detection accuracy, a novel malicious domain detection method named MDND‐SS‐PO is proposed that combines semi‐supervised learning and parameter optimization. The contributions of the study are as follows. First, the method extracts the statistical features of the IP address, TTL value, the NXDomain record, and the domain name query characteristics to discriminate Domain‐Flux and Fast‐Flux domain names simultaneously. Second, an improved DBSCAN based on the neighborhood division is designed to cluster labeled data and unlabeled data with low time consumption. Then, based on the clustering hypothesis, unlabeled data is tagged with pseudo‐label according to the cluster results, which aims to train a supervised classifier effectively. Finally, Gaussian process regression is used to optimize parameter settings of the algorithm. And the Silhouette index and F1 score are introduced to evaluate the optimization results. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieved a precise detection performance of 0.885 when the ratio of labeled data is 5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As a potential solution to improve wireless security, specific emitter identification is a lightweight access authentication technology. However, the existed deep learning‐based specific emitter identification methods are highly dependent on the training sample size, leading to serious overfitting problem when the training samples are inadequate, which obstructs their practical applications. To address this issue, an innovative data augmentation method to effectively expand the sample size is proposed. In this design, after data preprocessing, a random integration based data augmentation is applied to integrate several initial samples and generate new samples. Furthermore, compared with the existed methods, chaotic sequences are utilized to randomly set the integration weight of each initial sample, and thus enhancing the diversity of augmented samples. The superiority of the proposed chaotic integration‐based data augmentation method in accuracy, generalization ability and robustness is validated by the hardware implementation on digital mobile radio portable radios.

Abstract B5G/6G networks are facing challenges in the deployment of additional base stations. However, Taiwan's four major operators have launched VoWi‐Fi calling services to maintain signal quality and coverage for customers. These services pose potential threats when users connect to untrusted Wi‐Fi networks. Therefore, the authors utilised commercial equipment to study the security of VoWi‐Fi calling services offered by Taiwan's four major telecom companies. The authors employed address resolution protocol attack methods to develop two verification attacks that bypass existing security measures: one for dropping session initiation protocol packets and the other for dropping voice call packets, both capable of circumventing current security defences. Through real‐world experiments, the authors confirmed their feasibility and assessed their potential harm. Consequently, two defence methods are proposed. The first is an anti‐attack algorithm for app and device manufacturers to detect the security of the user's calling environment. The second is a recommendation for telecom operators to implement new detection mechanisms to safeguard user rights. The cover image is based on the Case Study VoWi‐Fi security threats: Address resolution protocol attack and countermeasures by Kuan‐Chu Lu et al., https://doi.org/10.1049/ntw2.12113

Abstract The evolution of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) promises improvements in our travel experience and the potential to enhance road safety and reduce environmental impact. This will be utilising highly diverse traffic environments that enable several advanced mobility applications. A secure, efficient, reliable, and resilient communications infrastructure is required to support developments in these CAV systems. Next generation of telecommunication networks will seamlessly integrate terrestrial, satellite, and airborne networks into a single wireless system satisfying the requirements of trustworthy future transport systems. Given the increasing importance of CAVs, coupled with their attractiveness as a cyber‐attack for threat agents (e.g., disruption of transportation systems by nation states), security is paramount. Future communications systems offer an opportunity to integrate Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) into vehicular environments, protecting against advances in quantum computation that render many of the classical algorithms that underpin Public Key Infrastructure obsolete. This paper proposes a method for the integration of QKD in V2I networks to enable secure data communication. Quantum Key Distribution is used in the end‐to‐end path of vehicle‐to‐infrastructure (V2I) networks. Furthermore, an overarching Software‐Defined Network, with integrated QKD, is introduced. We have investigated the security performance of QKD in a V2I network over an urban environment.

Abstract The security of data communications is one of the crucial challenges that our society is facing today. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is one of the most prominent methods for guaranteeing ultimate security based on the laws of quantum physics. In this work, the results obtained during the Italian Industry 4.0 Quantum Testbed (II4QuTe) project are reported where the authors realised a QKD testbed securely connecting the Competence Industry Manufacturing 4.0 (CIM4.0) located in Torino and a TIM edge node located 10 km away from the testbed. The edge node accommodates the server providing computation capabilities for managing the real‐time data generated by the machines within the CIM4.0 digital factory pilot line, thus gracefully integrating QKD with the MEC (Multi‐access Edge Computing) paradigm. The experiment was conducted for more than 69 h, establishing an average key generation rate of 5.125 keys/s (AES‐256 keys) and demonstrating the stability of the entire end‐to‐end encryption system.

Abstract In order to solve the security problems caused by malicious nodes in wireless sensor networks, a TS‐BRS reputation model based on time series analysis is proposed in this paper. By using the time series analysis method, the matching analysis of two time series is carried out to reduce the interference of channel conflicts on the reputation evaluation model and improve the accuracy of model recognition. In order to improve the adaptability of the evaluation model, the adaptive maintenance function μ is introduced into the update of credit value, which aggravates the influence of node behaviour on credit value at the present stage. The simulation results show that the new reputation evaluation model can effectively improve the detection rate and detection speed of malicious nodes in the network. After the introduction of maintenance function, the reputation value of the captured malicious nodes in the network has a faster convergence speed.

As a potential solution to improve wireless security, specific emitter identification is a lightweight access authentication technology. However, the existed deep learning‐based specific emitter identification methods are highly dependent on the training sample size, leading to serious overfitting problem when the training samples are inadequate, which obstructs their practical applications. To address this issue, an innovative data augmentation method to effectively expand the sample size is proposed. In this design, after data preprocessing, a random integration based data augmentation is applied to integrate several initial samples and generate new samples. Furthermore, compared with the existed methods, chaotic sequences are utilized to randomly set the integration weight of each initial sample, and thus enhancing the diversity of augmented samples. The superiority of the proposed chaotic integration‐based data augmentation method in accuracy, generalization ability and robustness is validated by the hardware implementation on digital mobile radio portable radios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of group decision-making, different decision-makers have different risk attitudes. There are quantum entanglements among the opinions of decision-makers, influencing each other rather than being independent of each other. To address this issue, a multi-attribute quantum group decision-making method considering decision-maker's risk attitude is developed. First, considering the uncertain environment of decision-making, the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy number is used to represent the decision information, and a new scoring function is proposed to transform the interval intuitionistic fuzzy matrix into a scoring function matrix. Second, the interference entanglement behavior of the decision-maker in the decision-making process is deduced by quantum probability, and the quantum probability is transformed into the weight of the attributes. Then, the prospect value function is determined according to the expectation reference point of different decision-makers, and the irrational risk attitude of decision-makers is reflected by comprehensive prospect value, which is used to rank the alternatives. Finally, a case of global telecommunication system security assessment is provided to verify the feasibility, effectiveness, and superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Основною метою дослідження є розроблення сучасного механізму інформаційного забезпечення фінансово-економічної безпеки в умовах впливу найбільш вагомих кіберзагроз. У рамках проведеного дослідження доведено важливість і вагомість такого впливу загроз фінансово-економічній безпеці як кіберпросторового характеру дії. Об’єктом дослідження обрано відкриті соціально-економічні системи, що займаються інформаційно-телекомунікаційною діяльністю на території України в умовах воєнного стану. Обґрунтовано, що при воєнному стані посилений вплив сучасних кіберзагроз суттєво знижує рівень фінансово-економічної безпеки. Методологія дослідження передбачає застосування різноманітної кількості методів, основними серед яких є: метод системного аналізу, експертного аналізу, методі Дельфі, моделювання й аналітично-ієрархічного процесу. У результаті проведеного дослідження визначено зміни в динаміці ключових показників діяльності установ у царині інформаційно-телекомунікаційних послуг, які мають безпосередній вплив на забезпечення фінансово-економічної безпеки. Доведено потребу в удосконаленні інформаційного забезпечення з метою підвищення рівня безпеки. Розроблено сучасний механізм інформаційного забезпечення фінансово-економічної безпеки, який, на відміну від подібних, акцентує увагу на засадах протидії кіберзагрозам. Визначено ключові, найбільш вагомі сьогодні, в умовах воєнного стану, кіберзагрози для установ у царині інформаційно-телекомунікаційних послуг. Їх упорядкування дозволило краще зрозуміти, яких заходів слід уживати першочергово, а яких ні. Запропонований підхід до впорядкування кіберзагроз формує інформаційне підґрунття для ефективного забезпечення фінансово-економічної безпеки в сучасних умоваx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B5G/6G networks are facing challenges in the deployment of additional base stations. However, Taiwan's four major operators have launched VoWi‐Fi calling services to maintain signal quality and coverage for customers. These services pose potential threats when users connect to untrusted Wi‐Fi networks. Therefore, the authors utilised commercial equipment to study the security of VoWi‐Fi calling services offered by Taiwan's four major telecom companies. The authors employed address resolution protocol attack methods to develop two verification attacks that bypass existing security measures: one for dropping session initiation protocol packets and the other for dropping voice call packets, both capable of circumventing current security defences. Through real‐world experiments, the authors confirmed their feasibility and assessed their potential harm. Consequently, two defence methods are proposed. The first is an anti‐attack algorithm for app and device manufacturers to detect the security of the user's calling environment. The second is a recommendation for telecom operators to implement new detection mechanisms to safeguard user rights. The cover image is based on the Case Study VoWi‐Fi security threats: Address resolution protocol attack and countermeasures by Kuan‐Chu Lu et al., https://doi.org/10.1049/ntw2.12113 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the security problems caused by malicious nodes in wireless sensor networks, a TS‐BRS reputation model based on time series analysis is proposed in this paper. By using the time series analysis method, the matching analysis of two time series is carried out to reduce the interference of channel conflicts on the reputation evaluation model and improve the accuracy of model recognition. In order to improve the adaptability of the evaluation model, the adaptive maintenance function μ is introduced into the update of credit value, which aggravates the influence of node behaviour on credit value at the present stage. The simulation results show that the new reputation evaluation model can effectively improve the detection rate and detection speed of malicious nodes in the network. After the introduction of maintenance function, the reputation value of the captured malicious nodes in the network has a faster convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the standardization trends in the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Joint Technical Committee 1 (ISO/IEC JTC 1)/Subcommittee 29 (SC 29), and International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 16 (SG16) as well as ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 and ITU-T SG17. Both SC 29 and SG16 deal with multimedia coding and transmission and are shaping the future of entertainment and business communication. Both SC 27 and SG17 work on standardization related to information security and communication security and are helping to strengthen the reliability and privacy protection of the rapidly evolving digital society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mobile augmented reality applications, how to build a secure device connection between two previously unassociated devices without prior set-up is challenging, which also refers to the problem of device pairing. Most existing approaches to device pairing either have certain limits to be utilized in the environment of augmented reality or lack considerations of security issues. In this article, we design WVC, an intuitive, user-friendly, and secure device paring system for mobile augmented reality. It enables users to connect to a neighboring device by waving a finger to click towards it in the air. The system uses critical features from finger tracking trajectories to understand which device a user wants to interact with. Then, it designs key generation and correction algorithms to enhance security in device communication. In addition, we present solutions to defend against malicious attacks. We implement and test the system with 10 volunteers. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the system under varied scenarios in which devices are close to each other at a small angle or located at different heights within 2m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, key generation schemes based on the reciprocity of wireless channels have gained widespread attention in the field of wireless physical layer security. However, due to the openness of wireless channels, eavesdroppers may obtain partial legitimate keys by eavesdropping on the wireless channel. To address this issue, this paper proposes a wireless channel coding scheme that induces an “avalanche” of errors for eavesdroppers, which could maximize eavesdropper's bit error rate. The design of this scheme is based on the significant differences between the eavesdropping channel and the legitimate channel, and the average bit key disagreement ratio of the keys generated by the legitimate channel is around 8%. The scheme selects polar codes with strong error correction capabilities and chooses a coding rate matching the error level of the legitimate channel, forcing the eavesdropping channel's error rate into an “avalanche” state, where the error rate approaches 50%. This paper presents the structure of the encoder and determines the coding rate through simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that this scheme can significantly degrade the error rate of the eavesdropping channel while ensuring the prevention of eavesdroppers from obtaining secret information transmitted through the legitimate channel.

Abstract Quantum‐based technologies will provide system engineers with new capabilities for securing data communications. The UK AirQKD project has implemented a Free‐Space Optical Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system to enable the continuous generation of symmetric encryption keys. One of the use cases for the generated keys is to secure Vehicle‐to‐Everything (V2X) communications. V2X applications would benefit from the certificate‐free security provided by QKD for a post‐quantum society. How FSO‐QKD could integrate into a V2X architecture is examined. An overview of V2X is provided with the role that FSO‐QKD could secure V2X data though some obstacles exist. One of the issues with 6G communications is the potential line‐of‐sight (LOS) considerations between the V2X devices. The modelling required for LOS is examined to analyse the outage performance of the building to infrastructure links in the 6G architecture. The results from the model show that further work is required if 6G LOS communications are going to be relied upon for future safety‐critical V2X applications.

Abstract Quasi‐chaotic generators are used for producing a pseudorandom behaviour that can be used for encryption/decryption and secure communications, introducing an implementation of them based on quantum technology. Namely, the authors propose a quasi‐chaotic generator based on quantum modular addition and quantum modular multiplication and they prove that quantum computing allows the parallel processing of data, paving the way for a fast and robust multi‐channel encryption/decryption scheme. The resulting structure is validated by means of several experiments, which assessed the performance with respect to the original VLSI solution and ascertained the desired noise‐like behaviour.

Abstract The authors devised a protocol that allows two parties, who may malfunction or intentionally convey incorrect information in communication through a quantum channel, to verify each other's measurements and agree on each other's results. This has particular relevance in a modified version of the quantum coin flipping game. The key innovation of the authors’ work includes the new design of a quantum coin that excludes any advantage of cheating, by which the long‐standing problem of the fair design of the game is, affirmatively, solved. Furthermore, the analysis is extended to N‐parties communicating with each other, where multiple solutions for the verification of each player's measurement is proposed. The results in the N‐party scenario could have particular relevance for the implementation of future quantum networks, where verification of quantum information is a necessity.

Abstract Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has great potential in securing wireless transmission, and it can flexibly change the wireless communication environment. However, the employment of RIS increases the difficulty in beamforming of base station (BS), and existing schemes cannot be directly utilized to enhance the security of system. Therefore, a reinforcement learning framework to jointly control BS and RIS for the purpose of enhancing the secure performance is proposed. Specifically, the beamforming ia transformed with artificial noise and reflection control as a Markov decision problem (MDP) in complex domain. Then, we develop the deep deterministic policy gradient based on complex‐valued neural networks (CV‐DDPG) to imitate the rules of complex computation. Additionally, the CV‐DDPG is performed as the agent of reinforcement learning to control the BS and RIS, which enables better utilization of the implied phase information of complex values in the system. The simulation results show that the proposed model promotes the performance of the control and greatly improves the secrecy rate of the legitimate user.

Abstract Here, the issue of physical layer security in a two‐way multi‐antenna relay network) is studied. In such a network, two multi‐antenna transceivers attempt to exchange their secret messages via a multi‐antenna relay node in the presence of an eavesdropper. Throughout the first hop, two sources send their messages to the relay node, while an eavesdropper tries to overhear these messages. Then, in the second hop, the relay attempts to send its signal in the null‐space direction of relay‐to‐eavesdropper channel to prevent eavesdropping. The main goal is to obtain effective receive and transmit beamforming vectors at transceivers as well as the beamforming matrix at the relay node to address the secrecy rate balancing problem. The underlying problem is not convex in general. To overcome this issue, the original problem is divided into three subproblems. In the first subproblem the beamforming design at the relay is optimized while in the second subproblem the receive beamforming in a closed form solution is obtained. Finally, in the last subproblem the transmit beamforming is solved using the semi‐definite relaxation and Taylor series expansion. Numerical results represent the effectiveness of the proposed method compared to the previous works in the literature.

Abstract The authors propose a secure intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) assisted transmission system in the presence of a ground eavesdropper, where the source in the ground transmits confidential information to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), IRS is deployed to promote the transmission rate of the source to UAV. Closed‐form expression for secure transmission non‐outage probability is derived, and secure transmission performance is analyzed. Simulation validates the correctness of the derivation. Compared with benchmarks, results show that the IRS can improve the secure transmission of ground to UAV.

In recent years, key generation schemes based on the reciprocity of wireless channels have gained widespread attention in the field of wireless physical layer security. However, due to the openness of wireless channels, eavesdroppers may obtain partial legitimate keys by eavesdropping on the wireless channel. To address this issue, this paper proposes a wireless channel coding scheme that induces an "avalanche" of errors for eavesdroppers, which could maximize eavesdropper's bit error rate. The design of this scheme is based on the significant differences between the eavesdropping channel and the legitimate channel, and the average bit key disagreement ratio of the keys generated by the legitimate channel is around 8%. The scheme selects polar codes with strong error correction capabilities and chooses a coding rate matching the error level of the legitimate channel, forcing the eavesdropping channel's error rate into an "avalanche" state, where the error rate approaches 50%. This paper presents the structure of the encoder and determines the coding rate through simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that this scheme can significantly degrade the error rate of the eavesdropping channel while ensuring the prevention of eavesdroppers from obtaining secret information transmitted through the legitimate channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The protection of communications between Internet of Things (IoT) devices is of great concern because the information exchanged contains vital sensitive data. Malicious agents seek to exploit those data to extract secret information about the owners or the system. Power side channel attacks are of great concern on these devices because their power consumption unintentionally leaks information correlatable to the device's secret data. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of authenticated encryption with advanced data, in protecting communications with these devices. A comprehensive evaluation of the seven (out of 10) algorithm finalists of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) IoT lightweight cipher competition that do not integrate built‐in countermeasures is proposed. The study shows that, nonetheless, they still present some residual vulnerabilities to power side channel attacks (SCA). For five ciphers, an attack methodology as well as the leakage function needed to perform correlation power analysis (CPA) is proposed. The authors assert that Ascon, Sparkle, and PHOTON‐Beetle security vulnerability can generally be assessed with the security assumptions “Chosen ciphertext attack and leakage in encryption only, with nonce‐misuse resilience adversary (CCAmL1)” and “Chosen ciphertext attack and leakage in encryption only with nonce‐respecting adversary (CCAL1)”, respectively. However, the security vulnerability of GIFT‐COFB, Grain, Romulus, and TinyJambu can be evaluated more straightforwardly with publicly available leakage models and solvers. They can also be assessed simply by increasing the number of traces collected to launch the attack.

Abstract At ASIACRYPT 2019, Zhang proposed a near collision attack on A5/1 claiming to recover the 64‐bit A5/1 state with a time complexity around 232 cipher ticks with negligible memory requirements. Soon after its proposal, Zhang's near collision attack was severely challenged by Derbez et al. who claimed that Zhang's attack cannot have a time complexity lower than Golic's memoryless guess‐and‐determine attack dating back to EUROCRYPT 1997. In this article, both the guess‐and‐determine and the near collision attacks for recovering A5/1 states with negligible memory complexities are studied. Firstly, a new guessing technique called the move guessing technique that can construct linear equation filters in a more efficient manner is proposed. Such a technique can be applied to both guess‐and‐determine and collision attacks for efficiency improvements. Secondly, the filtering strength of the linear equation systems is taken into account for complexity analysis. Such filtering strength are evaluated with practical experiments making the complexities more convincing. Based on such new techniques, the authors are able to give 2 new guess‐and‐determine attacks on A5/1: the 1st attack recovers the internal state s0 ${oldsymbol{s}}^{0}$ with time complexity 243.92; the 2nd one recovers a different state s1 ${oldsymbol{s}}^{1}$ with complexity 243.25. Golic's guess‐and‐determine attack and Zhang's near collision attacks are revisited. According to our detailed analysis, the complexity of Golic's s1 ${oldsymbol{s}}^{1}$ recovery attack is no lower than 246.04, higher than the previously believed 243. On the other hand, Zhang's near collision attack recovers s0 ${oldsymbol{s}}^{0}$ with the time complexity 253.19: such a complexity can be further lowered to 250.78 with our move guessing technique.

Abstract As automobile intelligence continues to develop, the electronic control units connected to the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus within vehicles face an increasing number of threats from potential attacks originating from the internet. To address this issue, an intrusion detection and defence method is proposed that is capable of detecting illegal messages through the use of frequency anomaly detection, and subsequently disrupting them through utilization of the CAN bus arbitration mechanism. This proposed method offers a simple implementation compared to traditional approaches, while being able to identify suspicious units and neutralize threats in real‐time. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.

The main purpose of a quantum key distribution network is to provide secret keys to any users or applications requiring a high level of security, ideally such as to offer the best protection against any computational attack, even of a quantum nature. The keys shared through a point-to-point link between a source and a detector using a quantum key distribution protocol can be proven information-theoretically secure based on the quantum information theory. However, evaluating the security of a quantum key distribution network, especially if it is based on relay nodes, goes far beyond the quantum security of its single quantum links, involving aspects of conventional security for devices and their communication channels. In this contribution, we perform a rigorous threat analysis based on the most recent recommendations and practical network deployment security issues. We show that, at least in the current state of our understanding of quantum cryptography, quantum key distribution networks can only offer computational security and that their security in practical implementations in the shorter term requires resorting to post-quantum cryptography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an innovative technology that has the potential to enhance the scalability, flexibility, and security of telecommunications networks. The emergence and development of SDNs have introduced new opportunities and challenges in the telecommunications industry. One of the major challenges encountered by SDNs is the timing side-channel attacks. These attacks exploit timing information to expose sensitive data, including flow tables, routes, controller types, and ports, which pose a significant threat to communication networks. Existing techniques for mitigating timing side-channel attacks primarily focus on limiting them via network architectural changes. This significantly increases the overhead of SDNs and makes it difficult to identify the origin of the attack. To secure resilient integration of SDN in telecommunications networks, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive research that not only identifies the attack activity, but also formulates an adequate response. In this paper, we propose a detection and response solution for timing side-channel attacks in SDN. We used a machine learning-based approach to detect the probing activity and identify the source. To address the identified timing side-channel attack queries, we propose a response mechanism. This entails devising a feedback-oriented response to counter the identified source, such as blocking or diverting it, while minimising any adverse effects on legitimate network traffic. This methodology is characterised by an automated data-driven approach that enables prompt and effective responses. The architecture of this security solution ensures that it has a minimal impact on network traffic and resource usage as it is designed to be used in conjunction with SDN. The overall design findings show that our detection approach is 94% precise in identifying timing side-channel attacks in SDN when compared with traditional mitigation strategies. Additionally, the response mechanism employed by this approach yielded highly customised and precise responses, resulting in an impressive accuracy score of 97.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) has great potential in securing wireless transmission, and it can flexibly change the wireless communication environment. However, the employment of RIS increases the difficulty in beamforming of base station (BS), and existing schemes cannot be directly utilized to enhance the security of system. Therefore, a reinforcement learning framework to jointly control BS and RIS for the purpose of enhancing the secure performance is proposed. Specifically, the beamforming ia transformed with artificial noise and reflection control as a Markov decision problem (MDP) in complex domain. Then, we develop the deep deterministic policy gradient based on complex‐valued neural networks (CV‐DDPG) to imitate the rules of complex computation. Additionally, the CV‐DDPG is performed as the agent of reinforcement learning to control the BS and RIS, which enables better utilization of the implied phase information of complex values in the system. The simulation results show that the proposed model promotes the performance of the control and greatly improves the secrecy rate of the legitimate user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, the issue of physical layer security in a two‐way multi‐antenna relay network) is studied. In such a network, two multi‐antenna transceivers attempt to exchange their secret messages via a multi‐antenna relay node in the presence of an eavesdropper. Throughout the first hop, two sources send their messages to the relay node, while an eavesdropper tries to overhear these messages. Then, in the second hop, the relay attempts to send its signal in the null‐space direction of relay‐to‐eavesdropper channel to prevent eavesdropping. The main goal is to obtain effective receive and transmit beamforming vectors at transceivers as well as the beamforming matrix at the relay node to address the secrecy rate balancing problem. The underlying problem is not convex in general. To overcome this issue, the original problem is divided into three subproblems. In the first subproblem the beamforming design at the relay is optimized while in the second subproblem the receive beamforming in a closed form solution is obtained. Finally, in the last subproblem the transmit beamforming is solved using the semi‐definite relaxation and Taylor series expansion. Numerical results represent the effectiveness of the proposed method compared to the previous works in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the industry's awareness of the security of the IoT is also increasing, and the adoption of quantum communication technology can significantly improve the communication security of various devices in the IoT. This paper proposes a scheme of controlled remote quantum state preparation and quantum teleportation based on multiple communication parties, and a nine-qubit entanglement channel is used to achieve secure communication of multiple devices in the IoT. The channel preparation, measurement operation, and unitary operation of the scheme were successfully simulated on the IBM Quantum platform, and the entanglement degree and reliability of the channel were verified through 8192 shots. The scheme's application in the IoT was analyzed, and the steps and examples of the scheme in the secure communication of multiple devices in the IoT are discussed. By simulating two different attack modes, the effect of the attack on the communication scheme in the IoT was deduced, and the scheme's high security and anti-interference ability was analyzed. Compared with other schemes from the two aspects of principle and transmission efficiency, it is highlighted that the advantages of the proposed scheme are that it overcomes the single fixed one-way or two-way transmission protocol form of quantum teleportation in the past and can realize quantum communication with multiple devices, ensuring both security and transmission efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors propose a secure intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) assisted transmission system in the presence of a ground eavesdropper, where the source in the ground transmits confidential information to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), IRS is deployed to promote the transmission rate of the source to UAV. Closed‐form expression for secure transmission non‐outage probability is derived, and secure transmission performance is analyzed. Simulation validates the correctness of the derivation. Compared with benchmarks, results show that the IRS can improve the secure transmission of ground to UAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undoubtedly, Industry 4.0 in the energy sector improves the conditions for automation, generation and distribution of energy, increasing the rate of electric vehicle manufacturing in recent years. As a result, more grid-connected charging infrastructures are being installed, whose charging stations (CSs) can follow standardized architectures, such as the one proposed by the open charge point protocol (OCPP). The most recent version of this protocol is v.2.0.1, which includes new security measures at device and communication level to cover those security issues identified in previous versions. Therefore, this paper analyzes OCPP-v2.0.1 to determine whether the new functions may still be susceptible to specific cyber and physical threats, and especially when CSs may be connected to microgrids. To formalize the study, we first adapted the well-known threat analysis methodology, STRIDE, to identify and classify threats in terms of control and energy, and subsequently we combine it with DREAD for risk assessment. The analyses indicate that, although OCPP-v2.0.1 has evolved, potential security risks still remain, requiring greater protection in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Militaries depend on the electromagnetic spectrum to fight; it is where their radios and radars do their work. Without control of the spectrum, the ability of navies, armies, air and space forces to sense and communicate is badly degraded. Thomas Withington argues that manoeuvrist principles of warfare are directly applicable to military operations in the electromagnetic spectrum, particularly the radio spectrum. Applying these principles can help forces win and sustain a position of advantage over their adversaries in the spectrum, directly supporting and assisting operations in all domains of war.◼ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in mobile connection technology have been involved in every aspect of modern life. Even vehicles are becoming more connected, with the ability to communicate without human intervention. The main idea of connected vehicles is to exchange information to avoid a potential collision or to warn the driver about stop signs/lights. To achieve a wide range of connections between vehicles, they must be equipped with connected devices such as Bluetooth, wi-fi, and cellular connectivity. However, communication raises security issues with regard to cybersecurity attacks that attempt to collect confidential information or to take control of the vehicle by forcing unintended braking or steering. In this paper, we proposed a secure vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication approach by deploying a secure communication protocol based on a key management process and a cryptography system to encrypt exchanged data. The proposed key management process was designed to resist many attacks and eliminate connections to the infrastructure for key generation. Since vehicles are equipped with embedded devices with limited computation resources, a lightweight cryptography algorithm was used. The light encryption device (LED) block cipher was used to encrypt exchanged data. The LED has a low implementation area on hardware and low power consumption. It is considered to be a perfect solution for security issues in connected vehicles. The proposed data encryption algorithm was synthesized with VHDL on the Xilinx Zynq-7020 FPGA using the Vivado HLS tool. The encryption algorithm was implemented only on the logic of the device. The achieved results proved that the proposed algorithm is suitable for implementation in vehicles due to its low implementation requirements and low power consumption in addition to its high security level against cyber-attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject matter of this article is the processes of increasing information security in communication systems to solve applied problems that are critical in the transmission of confidential data. The goal is to develop a multistage method for protecting information from unauthorized access, based on probabilistic encryption integration, error-correcting code, and error decorrelation. The tasks to be solved are as follows: to develop a probabilistic encryption algorithm that considers the entropy of the characters' appearance in a message; to implement iterative coding with variable parameters of the information bits matrix; and to implement error decorrelation based on the generated matrix by interleaving information and check bits according to a given algorithm. Methodology: theory of signal communication and signal processing, theory of cryptography, theory of noiseresistant codes, probability theory, statistical analysis. The following results were obtained: a multi-stage method for protecting information from unauthorized access was proposed, in which at each step of data conversion, information secrecy is increased; probabilistic encryption was implemented, which considers the entropy of a discrete source of information when forming a space of random combinations; based on an iterative code with specified matrix parameters, an additional increase in the space of random combinations was implemented; error decorrelation reduces the multiplicity of errors in codewords and ensures mixing of bits according to a predetermined law. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the results obtained is as follows: 1) an improved method of information protection from unauthorized access is proposed, based on probabilistic encryption integration, interference-resistant coding, and error decorrelation; 2) increasing information concealment is realized by eliminating the main shortcomings of probabilistic encryption, which did not take into account the entropy of the symbols of the open message; 3) it is proposed to form the space of random combinations taking into account the average probability of the appearance of a symbol in open texts, which will allow the output of a probabilistic cipher to form a stream of random combinations, which, according to its statistical properties, is close to the uniform distribution law; 4) further development of information protection methods based on interference-resistant coding and error decorrelation with encryption functions is received; 5) a further development of the statistical encryption method is the use of all redundant elements for both probabilistic encryption and interference-resistant coding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, a joint detection strategy of Willie based on two phases observation is proposed and an energy‐efficient covert communication scheme with an adaptive assist nodes group (AANG) based on uniform jamming power (UJP) strategy is proposed to against the joint‐phase detection of Willie, which achieves covert communication with lower energy cost and higher average covert rate (ACR). The probability of detection error (PDE) at Willie with joint‐phase detection and ACR are derived. Furthermore, the optimal power allocation of legitimate transmitters is resolved to maximize ACR. Numerical results demonstrate the benefit of the proposed scheme over the covert rate and consumed jamming power.

As automobile intelligence continues to develop, the electronic control units connected to the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus within vehicles face an increasing number of threats from potential attacks originating from the internet. To address this issue, an intrusion detection and defence method is proposed that is capable of detecting illegal messages through the use of frequency anomaly detection, and subsequently disrupting them through utilization of the CAN bus arbitration mechanism. This proposed method offers a simple implementation compared to traditional approaches, while being able to identify suspicious units and neutralize threats in real‐time. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]