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Digital Communications and Networks

DRL-enabled secure uplink transmission for MIMO-OFDM IoT systems against intelligent eavesdroppers

Yingzhen Wu, Yan Huo, Xin Fan, Qinghe Gao, Jian Mao, Tao Jing

Published Aug 18, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Physical layer security has emerged as a promising approach to counter eavesdropping threats in the Internet of Things (IoT). With the advancement of technology, eavesdroppers (Eves) are increasingly sophisticated, exacerbating the difficulties in ensuring the security of uplink transmissions. In situations where transmitters are unable to deter Eves from approaching at close range, these intelligent Eves can attain substantial channel gains, thereby posing significant security threats. To address these challenges, we first propose a time-domain artificial noise (AN) scheme to eliminate interference at the legitimate receiver in Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems. Then, we model the adversarial interaction between legitimate transceivers and intelligent Eves as a game-theoretic problem. To solve the dynamic game problem, we introduce a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG)-based framework, where an optimal beamforming fractional programming algorithm (OBFP) and a lower-complexity zero-forcing beamforming difference of convex algorithm (ZFDC) are designed to ascertain the most effective strategy for legitimate transceivers. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms and highlight the critical role of time-domain AN in combating intelligent eavesdropping.

DOI
10.1016/j.dcan.2025.08.004

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Physical layer security has emerged as a promising approach to counter eavesdropping threats in the Internet of Things (IoT). With the advancement of technology, eavesdroppers (Eves) are increasingly sophisticated, exacerbating the difficulties in ensuring the security of uplink transmissions. In situations where transmitters are unable to deter Eves from approaching at close range, these intelligent Eves can attain substantial channel gains, thereby posing significant security threats. To address these challenges, we first propose a time-domain artificial noise (AN) scheme to eliminate interference at the legitimate receiver in Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems. Then, we model the adversarial interaction between legitimate transceivers and intelligent Eves as a game-theoretic problem. To solve the dynamic game problem, we introduce a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG)-based framework, where an optimal beamforming fractional programming algorithm (OBFP) and a lower-complexity zero-forcing beamforming difference of convex algorithm (ZFDC) are designed to ascertain the most effective strategy for legitimate transceivers. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms and highlight the critical role of time-domain AN in combating intelligent eavesdropping.
Physical-layer security (PLS) has become an intriguing technology to address eavesdropping issues in Internet of Things (IoT) systems owing to its low complexity and latency. As wireless communication technology and computing capabilities advance by leaps and bounds, eavesdroppers have enhanced eavesdropping capabilities. They can analyse the environment and move to find better locations for eavesdropping. To mitigate the significant impact of multiple intelligent eavesdroppers extremely close to the device-constrained transmitters in the uplink multiple-input-multiple-output IoT systems, we exploit time-domain artificial noise (AN) in the PLS design and formulate a game problem against the intelligent eavesdroppers. First, we derive the optimal closed-form solution for eavesdroppers and propose a low complexity difference of the convex (LCDC) algorithm to obtain the optimal strategy of the legitimate users and the access point equipped with a zero-forcing receiver. For general linear receivers, we propose a successive convex approximation (SCA) algorithm for the game problem. Simulations are conducted to verify the convergence and effectiveness of our proposed algorithms. The system secrecy performance of the time-domain AN is much better than that of the frequency-domain AN with single-antenna transmitters.
Physical layer security has been considered as an important security approach in wireless communications to protect legitimate transmission from passive eavesdroppers. This paper investigates the physical layer security of a wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication system in the presence of a multiple-antenna eavesdropper. We first propose a transmit-filter-assisted secure MIMO-OFDM system which can destroy the orthogonality of eavesdropper's signals. Our proposed transmit filter can disturb the reception of eavesdropper while maintaining the quality of legitimate transmission. Then, we propose another artificial noise (AN)-assisted secure MIMO-OFDM system to further improve the security of the legitimate transmission. The time-domain AN signal is designed to disturb the reception of eavesdropper while the legitimate transmission will not be affected. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the security performance of the proposed transmit filter design and AN-assisted scheme in the MIMO-OFDM system.
The escalating demand for secure wireless communication, driven by the proliferation of connected devices, has made information security a paramount concern. Traditional encryption methods struggle against eavesdropping and malicious jamming in open wireless channels, necessitating innovative solutions. This paper explores physical layer security, leveraging intrinsic wireless channel properties, enhanced by reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). We propose an RIS-assisted multiple-input single-output system to counteract eavesdroppers and jamming threats through an artificial noise (AN) cooperation scheme. AN is injected during legitimate beamforming to bolster transmission security. Jointly optimizing the base station’s precoding vector, AN vector, and RIS reflection coefficients under power, quality, and phase constraints, we formulate a non-convex secrecy rate (SR) maximization problem. Addressing its complexity, we model it as a Markov decision process and develop a deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm within a deep reinforcement learning framework. Simulation results demonstrate the proposed method’s superior performance, reduced complexity, and robustness against multiple eavesdroppers and high-power jamming, underscoring the critical roles of RIS and AN in securing wireless communications. It consistently outperforms traditional algorithms such as alternating optimization with semidefinite programming, offering up to 7% higher SR and achieving nearly 120% SR gains as RIS elements scale from N =4 to N =10.
6G communication systems, particularly massive Internet of Things (IoT), face critical security challenges in safeguarding transmissions against eavesdropping attacks. These challenges are exacerbated by the presence of intelligent eavesdroppers capable of exploiting impairments in wiretap channels. Traditional physical layer security (PLS) techniques, such as friendly jamming (FJ), typically rely on the differentiability and accurate availability of channel state information (CSI) to optimize performance. However, in real-world scenarios, non-differentiable channels (NDCs) resulting from hardware imperfections, mobility, and complex multi-path fading, pose significant obstacles to conventional gradient-based optimization methods. In this paper, we propose a novel deep learning-based FJ approach tailored specifically for NDC environments, where gradient-based techniques prove ineffective. Leveraging the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) algorithm, our framework dynamically generates jamming signals to optimize secrecy rates while simultaneously minimizing the block error rate (BLER) at the legitimate receiver. Through extensive evaluation of realistic channel models, including both line-of-sight (LoS) and non-line-of-sight (NLoS) conditions, our proposed approach demonstrates superior security enhancements and robust performance against eavesdropping threats. The results highlight its effectiveness in securing communications under the challenging and dynamic conditions inherent to NDC environments.
A frequency domain (FD) time-reversal (TR) precoder is proposed to perform physical layer security (PLS) in single-input single-output (SISO) systems using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and artificial noise (AN) signal injection. The AN signal does not corrupt the data transmission to the legitimate receiver but degrades the decoding performance of the eavesdropper. This scheme guarantees the secrecy of a communication towards a legitimate user when the transmitter knows the instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of the legitimate link thanks to the channel reciprocity in time division duplex (TDD) systems, but does not know the instantaneous CSI of a potential eavesdropper. Three optimal decoding structures at the eavesdropper are considered in a fast fading (FF) environment depending on the handshake procedure between Alice and Bob. Closed-form approximations of the AN energy to inject in order to maximize the SR of the communication are derived. In addition, the required conditions at the legitimate receiver's end to guarantee a given SR are determined when Eve's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is infinite. Furthermore, a waterfilling power allocation strategy is presented to further enhance the secrecy of the scheme. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the security performance of the proposed secure system.
This paper investigates artificial noise (AN) injection along the temporal and spatial dimensions of a legitimate system to secure its transmissions from potential eavesdropping. In particular, we consider a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system in the presence of a multiple-antenna passive eavesdropper and characterize both the secrecy rate and average secrecy rate of the legitimate system. We assume that the legitimate transmitter knows the full channel state information (CSI) of the links connecting it with its legitimate receiver but does not know the instantaneous CSI of the passive eavesdropper. Closed-form expressions for the secrecy rate and average secrecy rate are derived for the asymptotic case of a large number of transmit antennas. We compare the degrading effects of spatial and temporal AN on the eavesdropper's rate. We also investigate the power allocation between the data and the AN and the power allocation between the spatial and the temporal AN. An upper bound on the secrecy rate loss due to the presence of the eavesdropper is also derived, and computer simulations are carried out to demonstrate the performance of our proposed AN scheme.