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arXiv:1308.1206

Generation of Secret Key for Physical Layer to Evaluate Channel Characteristics in Wireless Communications

B. U. V. Prashanth, Y. Pandurangaiah

Published Aug 6, 2013• 2 citations
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Abstract

This manuscript aims to generate a secret key for a PHY layer to evaluate the channel characteristics in wireless communications. An algorithmic approach is adopted for multimedia encryption to generate a secret key between two entities communicating with each other in a real time simulation environment such as MATLAB. Two classes of PHY key generation schemes are analyzed for designing the algorithm such as received-signal-strength-based and channel- phase-based protocols. We present a performance comparison of them in terms of key disagreement probability, key generation rate, key bit randomness, scalability, and implementation issues.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1308.1206

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This manuscript aims to generate a secret key for a PHY layer to evaluate the channel characteristics in wireless communications. An algorithmic approach is adopted for multimedia encryption to generate a secret key between two entities communicating with each other in a real time simulation environment such as MATLAB. Two classes of PHY key generation schemes are analyzed for designing the algorithm such as received-signal-strength-based and channel- phase-based protocols. We present a performance comparison of them in terms of key disagreement probability, key generation rate, key bit randomness, scalability, and implementation issues.
Due to the broadcast nature of wireless channels, wireless communication is vulnerable to eavesdropping, message modification, and node impersonation. Securing the wireless communication requires the shared secret keys between the communicating entities. Traditional security schemes rely on public key infrastructures and cryptographic algorithms to manage secret keys. Recently, many physical-layer-based methods have been proposed as alternative solutions for key generation in wireless networks. These methods exploit the inherent randomness of the wireless fading channel to generate secret keys while providing information-theoretical security without intensive cryptographic computations. This article provides an overview of the existing PHY-based key generation schemes exploiting the randomness of the wireless channels. Specifically, we first introduce the fundamental and general framework of the PHY-based key generation schemes and then categorize them into two classes: received-signal-strength-based and channel- phase-based protocols. Finally, we present a performance comparison of them in terms of key disagreement probability, key generation rate, key bit randomness, scalability, and implementation issues.
Abstract Wireless communications between two devices can be protected by secret keys. However, existing key generation schemes suffer from the high bit disagreement rate and low bit generation rate. In this paper, we propose an efficient physical layer key generation scheme by exploring the Received Signal Strength (RSS) of signals. In order to reduce the high mismatch rate of the measurements and to increase the key generation rate, a pair of transmitter and receiver separately apply adaptive quantization algorithm for quantifying the measurements. Then, we implement a randomness extractor to further increase key generation rate and ensure randomness of generated of keys. Several real-world experiments are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. The results show that compared with the other related schemes, our scheme performs better in bit generation rate, bit disagreement rate, and randomness.
Due to the unavoidable shared nature of the wireless radio spectrum, providing security for wireless communications presents unique challenges. Cryptographic keys have been used as a primary technique for securing wireless networks but are not completely secure. The symmetric keys used for cryptographic purposes are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle and brute force attacks. More recently, PHY-layer based techniques have gained significant attention, where the principle of channel reciprocity and the natural randomness of the measured wireless channel to generate secret keys is leveraged. Although, PHY-layer secret key generation has been investigated and presented in the literature before, there has been a lack of discussion in terms of obtaining symmetric keys on both ends of the link. In this work, we present a novel PHY-layer secret key generation technique that aims for symmetric encryption keys while limiting the information leaked to an eavesdropper to ensure complete secrecy and to prevent potential intelligent attacks. Our algorithm utilizes forward and backward channel state information in a given wireless link and combats the minute differences observed in these pairs by generating channel trend information. We demonstrate our technique using experimental results from a realtime SDR testbed connected to a wireless channel emulator. Our results indicate that the algorithm is successful in generating symmetric keys under various wireless environments without revealing any information pertaining to the key via the open wireless channel. Our secret key extraction rate can reach values in excess of 17.3 Kbps.
There is a growing interest in physical layer security. Recent work has demonstrated that wireless devices can generate a shared secret key by exploiting variations in their channel. The rate at which the secret bits are generated, however, depends heavily on how fast the channel changes. As a result, existing schemes have a low secrecy rate and are mainly applicable to mobile environments. In contrast, this paper presents a new physical-layer approach to secret key generation that is both fast and independent of channel variations. Our approach makes a receiver jam the signal in a manner that still allows it to decode the data, yet prevents other nodes from decoding. Results from a testbed implementation show that our method is significantly faster and more accurate than state of the art physical-layer secret key generation protocols. Specifically, while past work generates up to 44 secret bits/s with a 4% bit disagreement between the two devices, our design has a secrecy rate of 3-18 Kb/s with 0% bit disagreement.
Exploiting the inherent physical properties of wireless channels to complement or enhance the traditional security mechanisms has attracted prominent attention recently. However, the existing secret key generation schemes suffer from miscellaneous extracting procedure. Many PHY-layer authentication schemes assume that the knowledge of the shared key is preknown. In this paper, we propose PHY-layer secret key generation and authentication schemes for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. In the secret key generation scheme, to simplify the extracting procedure, only one legitimate party is chosen to probe the channel and quantize the measurements to obtain the preliminary key. The preliminary key is masked by the channel-phase after the mapping and before equalization and distributed to the other party. The final shared key is used for the PHY-layer authentication scheme in which random signals and the shared key masked by the channel-phase are exchanged at the PHY-layer. Then, a binary hypothesis test is formulated for authentication. Simulation results show that the proposed secret key generation scheme outperforms the existing schemes. For the PHY-layer authentication scheme, it is immune to various passive and active attacks and a high successful authentication rate is acquired even at low signal-to-noise ratio region.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of wireless communication, securing transmitted information remains a critical challenge. This study provides a comprehensive review of secret key generation (SKG) techniques designed to secure physical layer wireless communication channels. We focus on key generation methods that exploit physical layer characteristics such as channel state information, received signal strength, and bit error rate. The computational complexity of these techniques is also examined, emphasizing the trade-offs between security and efficiency for real-world implementations. The review identifies open challenges such as developing low-cost, resource-efficient systems, managing artificial noise, and addressing the impact of mobility and multiuser massive MIMO systems on SKG rates. Our findings aim to guide the development of more efficient, scalable SKG methods for next-generation wireless networks. Additionally, we propose a method for securely generating identical secret keys between nodes using Cuckoo filters and a Map-Reduce model for frame hashing, ensuring long-term security in IoT environments.