Independence-Checking Coding for OFDM Channel Training Authentication: Protocol Design, Security, Stability, and Tradeoff Analysis

Abstract

In wireless OFDM communications systems, pilot tones, due to their publicly-known and deterministic characteristic, suffer significant jamming/nulling/spoofing risks. Thus, the convectional channel training protocol using pilot tones could be attacked and paralysed, which raises the issue of anti-attack channel training authentication (CTA), that is, verifying the claims of identities of pilot tones and channel estimation samples. In this paper, we consider one-ring scattering scenarios with largescale uniform linear arrays (ULA) and develop an independencechecking coding (ICC) theory to build a secure and stable CTA protocol, namely ICC based CTA (ICC-CTA) protocol. In this protocol, pilot tones are not merely randomized and inserted into subcarriers, but also encoded as diversified subcarrier activation patterns (SAPs) simultaneously. Those encoded SAPs, though camouflaged by malicious signals, can be identified and decoded into original pilots, and hence for high-accuracy channel impulse response (CIR) estimation. The CTA security is first characterised by the error probability of identifying legitimate CIR estimation samples. We prove that the identification error probability (IEP) is equal to zero under the continuously-distributed mean angle of arrival (AoA) and also derive a closed-form expression of IEP under the discretely-distributed case. The CTA instability is formulated as the function of probability of stably estimating CIR against all available diversified SAPs. A realistic tradeoff between the CTA security and instability under the discretelydistributed AoA is identified and an optimally-stable tradeoff problem is formulated, with the objective of optimizing the code rate to maximize security while maintaining maximum stability for ever. Solving this, we derive the closed-form expression of optimal code rate. Numerical results finally validate the resilience of proposed ICC-CTA protocol.

Analysis of Non-Pilot Interference on Link Adaptation and Latency in Cellular Networks

“…Karlsson et al [9] theoretically analyzed the vulnerability of TDD-massive MIMO to pilot interference. Xu et al [10] develop a novel coding scheme to authenticate the channel training phase using an independence-checking coding (ICC)-based protocol. In our prior work in [5], we have demonstrated the vulnerability of LTE to pilot interference through software-defined radio (SDR)-based experiments.…”

Concatenated Graph Coding on Bandwidth Part for Secure Pilot Authentication in Grant-Free URLLC

“…There are two PLS based research routes to protect pilots, including deterministic-pilot based approach and randompilot based approach. The former is limited to how to detect pilot-aware attack by exploiting the physical layer information, such as auxiliary training or data sequences [19], [20] and some prior known channel information [21]- [23] whereas the latter aims to avoid it by pilot randomization [15], [24], [25]. The importance of pilot randomization on time-frequency resources to avoid pilot aware attack on pilot subcarriers have been stressed in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems [26].…”

“…To solve this, authors in [33] proposed a coding based TRP framework by exploiting pilot randomization and subcarrierblock discriminating coding (SBDC) mechanism. In [15], the authors considered a practical one-ring scattering scenario and proposed an independence-checking coding (ICC) theory to secure TRP under pilot aware attack. When pilot aware attack happens, TRP under those schemes highly rely on the coding diversity and spatial fading correlation difference between UE and the attacker.…”

“…By virtue of those vulnerabilities, pilot-aware attacker can blindly decode the disclosed information, e.g., SRB0 and pilots, and paralyze the agreement in the form of jamming, spoofing and nulling those pilots [14], [15]. This refers to the concept of pilot authentication (PA) which aims to achieve the transmission and retrieval of pilot (TRP) reliably against those attack behaviors.…”

Deep Neural Network-Embedded Internet of Social Computing Things for Sustainability Prediction

“…Furthermore, in order to manipulate fine-grained feature space in IoSCT, specific neural network models can be set up to express complex dynamics process in society system. Neural network is a type of mathematical algorithm for distributed parallel information processing [29], and imitates neuro system characteristics of animals to realize complicated computation [31], [32]. Specific to the issue of sustainability prediction, major investigation object lies in the coordinated relationships between urbanization and ecological civilization [30] which is major focus of this research.…”