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IEEE Internet of Things Journal

Achieving Covertness and Secrecy: The Interplay Between Detection and Eavesdropping Attacks

Huihui Wu, Yuanyu Zhang, Yulong Shen, Xiaohong Jiang, Tarik Taleb

Published Jul 18, 2023• 41 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This paper explores a new secure wireless communication scenario for the data collection in the Internet of Things (IoT) where the physical layer security technology is applied to counteract both the detection and eavesdropping attacks, such that the critical covertness and secrecy properties of the communication are jointly guaranteed. We first provide theoretical modeling for covertness outage probability (COP), secrecy outage probability (SOP) and transmission probability (TP) to depict the covertness, secrecy and transmission performances of the wireless communication system. To understand the fundamental security performance under the wireless communication system, we then define a new metric -covert secrecy rate (CSR), which characterizes the maximum transmission rate subject to the constraints of COP, SOP and TP. We further conduct detailed theoretical analysis to identify the CSR under various scenarios determined by the detector-eavesdropper relationships and the secure transmission schemes adopted by transmitters. Finally, numerical results are provided to illustrate the achievable performances under the secure wireless communication system.

DOI
10.1109/jiot.2023.3296368

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This paper explores a new secure wireless communication scenario for the data collection in the Internet of Things (IoT) where the physical layer security technology is applied to counteract both the detection and eavesdropping attacks, such that the critical covertness and secrecy properties of the communication are jointly guaranteed. We first provide theoretical modeling for covertness outage probability (COP), secrecy outage probability (SOP) and transmission probability (TP) to depict the covertness, secrecy and transmission performances of the wireless communication system. To understand the fundamental security performance under the wireless communication system, we then define a new metric -covert secrecy rate (CSR), which characterizes the maximum transmission rate subject to the constraints of COP, SOP and TP. We further conduct detailed theoretical analysis to identify the CSR under various scenarios determined by the detector-eavesdropper relationships and the secure transmission schemes adopted by transmitters. Finally, numerical results are provided to illustrate the achievable performances under the secure wireless communication system.
This paper explores a new secure wireless communication paradigm where the physical layer security technology is applied to counteract both the detection and eavesdropping attacks, such that the critical covertness and secrecy properties of the communication are jointly guaranteed. We first provide theoretical modeling for covertness outage probability (COP), secrecy outage probability (SOP) and transmission probability (TP) to depict the covertness, secrecy and transmission performances of the paradigm. To understand the fundamental security performance under the new paradigm, we then define a new metric - covert secrecy rate (CSR), which characterizes the maximum transmission rate subject to the constraints of COP, SOP and TP. We further conduct detailed theoretical analysis to identify the CSR under various scenarios determined by the detector-eavesdropper relationships and the secure transmission schemes adopted by transmitters. Finally, numerical results are provided to illustrate the achievable performances under the new secure communication paradigm.
Wireless communication is one of the key technologies that actualize the Internet of Things (IoT) concept into the real world. Understanding the security performance of wireless communications lays the foundation for the security management of IoT. Eavesdropper collusion represents a significant threat to wireless communication security, while physical-layer security serves as a promising approach to providing a strong form of security guarantee. This paper studies the important secrecy outage performance of wireless communications under eavesdropper collusion, where the physical layer security is adopted to counteract such attack. Based on the classical Probability Theory, we first conduct analysis on the secrecy outage of the simple noncolluding case in which eavesdroppers do not collude and operate independently. For the secrecy outage analysis of the more hazardous M-colluding scenario, where any M eavesdroppers can combine their observations to decode the message, the techniques of Laplace transform, keyhole contour integral, and Cauchy Integral Theorem are jointly adopted to work around the highly cumbersome multifold convolution problem involved in such analysis, such that the related signal-to-interference ratio modeling for all colluding eavesdroppers can be conducted and thus the corresponding secrecy outage probability can be analytically determined. Finally, simulation and numerical results are provided to illustrate our theoretical achievements. An interesting observation suggests that the SOP increases first superlinearly and then sublinearly with M.
Wireless systems are of paramount importance in enabling ubiquitous data transmission for various Internet of Things (IoT) applications. However, due to the broadcast nature and openness of wireless channels, such systems face inherent security challenges. Covert communication is an enabling technology for secure wireless communications while the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-assisted covert communication is particularly promising for enhancing covert performance. This paper investigates joint covert and secure communications in a two-hop UAV-assisted wireless system, where a source S transmits a covert message to a destination D with the help of an untrusted UAV, while being subject to detection by a warden W. We first design a covert transmission scheme for the proposed system with the considerations of both covert and secure constraints. We then develop theoretical models for the warden1detection error probability and the covert-and-secure rate (CSR) from S to D. Based on these models, we further explore the optimal power control for CSR maximization under both covertness and security constraints. Finally, numerical results are presented to validate the theoretical models and demonstrate the performance of covert and secure communications in the UAV-assisted system.
Covert wireless communications aim to hide the existence of transmission behavior from watchful adversaries to enhance security. In this paper, we propose a spectrum mask based covert communication strategy in Internet of Things (IoT) networks, where the overt channels are leveraged to enhance the covertness. Specifically, the legitimate IoT transmitter superimposes its own message on the overt channel to avoid being detected by the warden. We assume that proper Gaussian signaling (PGS) is adopted at the overt channel, and improper Gaussian signaling (IGS) is adopted at the legitimate transmitter to improve the covert transmission performance. To maximize the covert rate of the legitimate IoT system, a joint transmit power and IGS factor optimization problem is formulated under the constraints of covertness requirement. The metric of minimum error detection probability, that represents the worst-case for the legitimate transmitter, is utilized to measure the covertness. By exploiting the piece-wise monotonic properties of the objective function and the constraints, we derive the optimal transmit power and IGS factor pairs in both the IGS and PGS schemes. Finally, extensive numerical results are presented to demonstrate that the IGS scheme can improve the covert rate compared to the PGS scheme under a given covertness constraint.
Covert communication, which can hide the communication behavior, has great potential in guaranteeing the security of information and transmission terminal to the greatest extent. In this paper, we propose a covert communication strategy based on improper Gaussian signaling (IGS) to increase the covert rate in the Internet of Things (IoT) system, in which the existing signals emitted by other transmitters were used as “Spectrum Shelter” to cover the IoT's communication. Specifically, we analyze the system's achievable transmission rate when the IoT node adopts IGS. Then, the optimal detection threshold and the minimum error detection probability of the warden are analyzed. Next, by jointly optimizing the transmission power and circularity coefficient of IGS, we maximize the covert rate under the constraints of the covertness. Finally, the simulation results verify that the proposed scheme can not only guarantee the covertness, but also improve the achievable covert rate.
With the great-leap-forward development of Internet of Things (IoT), it is extremely important to study secure wireless transmission for IoT systems. A cooperative jamming (CJ) strategy has been extensively studied to enhance physical layer security in IoT systems. However, CJ's secrecy performance has not been well studied in the scenario of collusive eavesdroppers. In this paper, we propose a CJ scheme for IoT systems to fight against multiple passive and collusive eavesdroppers of unknown channel state information. Considering nodes with multi-antenna in an IoT system, we design beamforming vectors to maximize signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the wireless link from a controller (transmitter) to an actuator (receiver). Under the worst-case assumption that eavesdroppers can aggregate all signals to enhance their eavesdropping abilities, we derive the closed- form expressions of the secrecy outage probability (SOP) with and without CJ. In addition, we employ a strict mathematical asymptotic analysis to provide insights into the effects of various system parameters on the SOP. Numerical results verify that the CJ scheme can effectively prevent eavesdropping and the effects of system parameters on SOP is consistent with theoretical analytical results.