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International Conference on Communications

On the continuity of the secrecy capacity of wiretap channels under channel uncertainty

Holger Boche, Rafael F. Schaefer, H. Vincent Poor

Published Jun 1, 2015• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The performance of a secure communication system such as the wiretap channel is usually characterized by its secrecy capacity. In this paper, the issue of whether or not the secrecy capacity is a continuous function of the system parameters is examined. In particular, this is done for channel uncertainty modeled via compound channels and arbitrarily varying channels, in which the legitimate users know only that the true channel realization is from a pre-specified uncertainty set. In the former model, this realization remains constant for the entire duration of transmission, while in the latter the realization varies from channel use to channel use in an unknown and arbitrary manner. The secrecy capacity of the compound wiretap channel is shown to be robust in the sense that it is a continuous function of the uncertainty set. Thus, small variations in the uncertainty set lead to small variations in secrecy capacity. However, the secrecy capacity of the arbitrarily varying wiretap channel is shown to be discontinuous in the uncertainty set meaning that small variations can lead to dramatic losses in capacity.

DOI
10.1109/icc.2015.7248976

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The performance of a secure communication system such as the wiretap channel is usually characterized by its secrecy capacity. In this paper, the issue of whether or not the secrecy capacity is a continuous function of the system parameters is examined. In particular, this is done for channel uncertainty modeled via compound channels and arbitrarily varying channels, in which the legitimate users know only that the true channel realization is from a pre-specified uncertainty set. In the former model, this realization remains constant for the entire duration of transmission, while in the latter the realization varies from channel use to channel use in an unknown and arbitrary manner. The secrecy capacity of the compound wiretap channel is shown to be robust in the sense that it is a continuous function of the uncertainty set. Thus, small variations in the uncertainty set lead to small variations in secrecy capacity. However, the secrecy capacity of the arbitrarily varying wiretap channel is shown to be discontinuous in the uncertainty set meaning that small variations can lead to dramatic losses in capacity.
The wiretap channel models secure communication between two users in the presence of an eavesdropper who must be kept ignorant of transmitted messages. The performance of such a system is usually characterized by its secrecy capacity which determines the maximum transmission rate of secure communication. In this paper, the issue of whether or not the secrecy capacity is a continuous function of the system parameters is examined. In particular, this is done for channel uncertainty modeled via compound channels and arbitrarily varying channels, in which the legitimate users know only that the true channel realization is from a prespecified uncertainty set. In the former model, this realization remains constant for the entire duration of transmission, while in the latter the realization varies from channel use to channel use in an unknown and arbitrary manner. These models not only capture the case of channel uncertainty, but are also suitable for modeling scenarios in which a malicious adversary jams or otherwise influences the legitimate transmission. The secrecy capacity of the compound wiretap channel is shown to be robust in the sense that it is a continuous function of the uncertainty set. Thus, small variations in the uncertainty set lead to small variations in secrecy capacity. On the other hand, the deterministic secrecy capacity of the arbitrarily varying wiretap channel is shown to be discontinuous in the uncertainty set meaning that small variations can lead to dramatic losses in capacity.
We determine the secrecy capacities under common randomness assisted coding of arbitrarily varying classical-quantum wiretap channels. Furthermore, we determine the secrecy capacity of a mixed channel model which is compound from the sender to the legitimate receiver and varies arbitrarily from the sender to the eavesdropper. We examine when the secrecy capacity is a continuous function of the system parameters as an application and show that resources, e.g., having access to a perfect copy of the outcome of a random experiment, can guarantee continuity of the capacity function of arbitrarily varying classical-quantum wiretap channels.
We determine the secrecy capacities under common randomness assisted coding of arbitrarily varying classical-quantum wiretap channels. Furthermore, we determine the secrecy capacity of a mixed channel model which is compound from the sender to the legal receiver and varies arbitrarily from the sender to the eavesdropper. As an application we examine when the secrecy capacity is a continuous function of the system parameters and show that resources, i.e., having access to a perfect copy of the outcome of a random experiment, are helpful for channel stability.
We study the identification capacity of classical-quantum channels (“cq-channels”) under channel uncertainty and privacy constraints. To be precise, we first consider compound memoryless cq-channels and determine their identification capacity; then we add an eavesdropper by considering compound memoryless wiretap cqq-channels, and determine their secret identification capacity. In the first case (without privacy), we find the identification capacity always equal to the transmission capacity. In the second case, we find a dichotomy: either the secrecy capacity (also known as private capacity) of the channel is zero, and then the secrecy identification capacity is also zero, or the secrecy capacity is positive and then the secrecy identification capacity equals the transmission capacity of the main channel without the wiretapper. We perform the same analysis for the case of arbitrarily varying wiretap cqq-channels (cqq-AVWC) with analogous findings, and make several observations regarding the continuity and super-additivity of the identification capacity in the latter case.
We study the identification capacity of classical-quantum channels (“cq-channels”), under channel uncertainty and privacy constraints. To be precise, we consider first compound memoryless cq-channels and determine their identification capacity; then we add an eavesdropper, considering compound memoryless wiretap cqq-channels, and determine their secret identification capacity. In the first case (without privacy), we find the identification capacity always equal to the transmission capacity. In the second case, we find a dichotomy: either the secrecy capacity (also known as private capacity) of the channel is zero, and then also the secrecy identification capacity is zero, or the secrecy capacity is positive and then the secrecy identification capacity equals the transmission capacity of the main channel without the wiretapper. We perform the same analysis for the case of arbitrarily varying wiretap cqq-channels (cqq-AVWC), with analogous findings, and make several observations regarding the continuity and super-additivity of the identification capacity in the latter case.
The wiretap channel models secure communication in the presence of an eavesdropper who must be kept ignorant of transmitted messages. In this paper, the arbitrarily varying wiretap channel (AVWC), in which the channel may vary in an unknown and arbitrary manner from channel use to channel use, is considered. For arbitrarily varying channels (AVCs) the capacity might differ depending on whether deterministic or common randomness (CR) assisted codes are used. The AVWC has been studied for both coding strategies and the relation between the corresponding secrecy capacities has been established. However, a characterization of the CR-assisted secrecy capacity itself or even a general CR-assisted achievable secrecy rate remain open in general for weak and strong secrecy. Here, the secrecy measure of high decoding error at the eavesdropper is considered, where the eavesdropper is further assumed to know channel states and to adapt its decoding strategy accordingly. For this secrecy measure a general CR-assisted achievable secrecy rate is established. The relation between secrecy capacities for different secrecy measures is discussed: The weak and strong secrecy capacities are smaller than or equal to the one for high decoding error. It is conjectured that this relation can be strict for certain channels.