Cyber-physical systems (CPS) integrate control, sensing, and processing into interconnected physical components to support applications within transportation, energy, healthcare, environment, and various other areas. Secure and reliable wireless communication between devices is necessary to enable the widespread adoption of these emerging technologies. Cyber-physical systems devices must be protected against active threats, such as Radio Frequency (RF) Jammers, which intentionally disrupt communication links. Jamming detection and mitigation techniques must be evaluated extensively to validate algorithms prior to full implementation. Challenges related to obtaining zoning permits, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot certification for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licencing lead to evaluation limited to simulation-based or simplistic, non-representative hardware experimentation. A site-specific ray-tracing emulation framework is presented to provide a realistic evaluation of communication devices under RF jamming attacks in complex scenarios involving mobility, vehicular, and UAV systems. System architecture and capabilities are provided for the devices under test, real-world jamming adversaries, channel modelling, and channel emulation. Case studies are provided to demonstrate the use of the framework for different applications and jamming threats. The experimental results illustrate the benefit of the ray-tracing emulation system for conducting complex wireless communication studies under the presence of RF jamming.
K E Y W O R D Scyber-physical systems, hardware-in-the-loop stimulation, telecommunication security
| INTRODUCTIONWith the emergence of new wireless technologies in our everyday lives, such as in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Vehicular, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communications, and the Internet of Things (IoT), protecting devices against external threats is essential for society to thrive in the future. Cyber-Physical Systems in particular has a high dependence on communication systems for data and control, leading to vulnerabilities to attacks [1]. Radio frequency (RF) jammers disrupt the wireless RF medium by transmitting signals with the malicious intent to interfere with legitimate communication systems. In critical communication systems, for instance, autonomous vehicles, medical device readings, and mobile access points for disaster relief, the consequences can be catastrophic.Types of RF jammers include constant, random, intermittent, reactive, and intelligent [2]. The constant jammer is straightforward in operation, sending a jamming signal at a centre frequency with a given bandwidth. The continuous nature of the threat results in simple detection and inefficient energy usage; therefore, more complex jammers are implemented. Random jammers trigger a jamming event with a set probability; similarly, intermittent jammers operate in setThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permi...
