Security Evaluation of Mutual Random Phase Injection Scheme for Secret Key Generation over Static Point-to-Point Communications

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Instructor, Computer Department, Qom University of Technology, Qom, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Telecommunications and Electronics, Qom University of Technology, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Physical layer secret key generation schemes, usually have two serious challenges in static point-to-point communications: 1) low key generation rate due to low entropy of channel state information and 2) security vulnerability at non-proximity regions due to spatial correlation. To solve the first challenge, local random generator-based schemes can be used. One of these schemes is mutual random phase injection, in which the channel probing signals with random phase are exchanged between the legitimate parties. In this paper, the security of the aforementioned scheme is reviewed in a static point-to-point link with a geometric secrecy approach. For this purpose, the vulnerability regions and secrecy regions are determined, and then a closed expression is provided for the key error probability. Moreover, based on the entropy analysis, the amount of eavesdropper’s equivocation about the key is calculated. The analytical results show that the eavesdropper’s equivocation is very low in static environments. In order to mitigate this weakness, we propose the idea of probing over multiple carrier frequencies instead of one frequency. The aim of this idea is to alter the equivalent channel phase, which leads to a significant increase in key entropy. As an example, the analytical results show that in static environments if single-bit quantization is utilized, the eavesdropper's equivocation about the key equals the number of different carrier frequencies which are used in the probing phase; so if channel probing is performed on a single frequency, the eavesdropper's equivocation will be only one bit, while, using the suggested idea, the eavesdropper's equivocation will be multifold. The simulation results show that if the probing process is performed on several frequencies, the vulnerability regions will decrease and the secrecy regions will increase. At the end of the paper, some suggestions are provided for further research in this field.

Keywords

Smiley face

References

[1]   J. Lin, W. Yu, N. Zhang, X. Yang, H. Zhang, and W. Zhao, “A Survey on Internet of Things: Architecture, Enabling Technologies, Security and Privacy, and Applications,” IEEE International Things, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 1125–1142, 2017.
[2]   P. Neelakanta, “Designing Robust Wireless Communications for Factory Floors,” in IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics, 2006.
[3]   S. K. Timalsina, R. Bhusal, and S. Moh, “NFC and Its Application to Mobile Payment: Overview and Comparison,” In International Conference on Information Science and Digital Content Technology (ICIDT), 2012, pp. 203–206.
[4]   S. Biswas, R. Tatchikou, and F. Dion, “Vehicle-to-Vehicle Wireless Communication Protocols for Enhancing Highway Traffic Safety,” IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 74–82, 2006.
[5]   A. Mukherjee, S. A. A. Fakoorian, J. Huang, and A. L. Swindlehurst, “Principles of Physical Layer Security in Multiuser Wireless Networks: A Survey,” IEEE Commun. Surveys Tuts., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 1550–1573, 2014.
[6]   J. M. Hamamreh, H. M. Furqan, and H. Arslan, “Classifications and Applications of Physical Layer Security Techniques for Confidentiality: A Comprehensive Survey,” IEEE Commun Surveys Tuts., vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 1773–1828, 2018.
[7]   G. Li, C. Sun, J. Zhang, E. Jorswieck, B. Xiao, and A. Hu, “Physical Layer Key Generation in 5G and Beyond Wireless Communications: Challenges and Opportunities,” Entropy, vol. 21, p. 497, 2019.
[8]   J. Zhang, G. Li, A. Marshall, A. Hu, and L. Hanzo, “A New Frontier for IoT Security Emerging from Three Decades of Key Generation Relying on Wireless Channels,” IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 138406–138446, 2020.
[9]   A. K. Junejo, F. Benkhelifa, B. Wong, and J. A. McCann, “LoRa-LiSK: A Lightweight Shared Secret Key Generation Scheme for LoRa Networks,” IEEE Int. Things J.
[10] W. Xu, S. Jha, and W. Hu, “LoRa-Key: Secure Key Generation System for LoRa-Based Network,” IEEE Int. Things J., vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 6404–6416, 2019.
[11] H. Ruotsalainen, J. Zhang, and S. Grebeniuk, “Experimental Investigation on Wireless Key Generation for Low-Power Wide-Area Networks,” IEEE Int. Things J., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1745–1755, 2020.
[12] M. Letafati, A. Kuhestani, K. K. Wong, and M. J. Piran, “A Lightweight Secure and Resilient Transmission Scheme for the Internet of Things in the Presence of a Hostile Jammer,” IEEE Int. Things J., vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 4373–4388, 2021.
[13] M. Letafati, A. Kuhestani, H. Behroozi, and D. W. K. Ng, “Jamming-Resilient Frequency Hopping-Aided Secure Communication for Internet-of-Things in the Presence of an Untrusted Relay,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 6771–6785, 2020.
[14] S. Severi, G. Abreu, G. Pasolini, and D. Dardari, “A Secret Key Exchange Scheme for Near Field Communication,” In IEEE WCNC, 2014, pp. 428–433.
[15] H. Fu and P. Y. Kam, “Exact Phase Noise Model and Its Application to Linear Minimum Variance Estimation of Frequency and Phase of a Noisy Sinusoid,” In IEEE PIMRC, 2008, pp. 1–5.
[16] A. Kuhestani, A. Mohammadi, and K. K. Wong, “Optimal Power Allocation by Imperfect Hardware Analysis in Untrusted Relaying Networks,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 4302–4314, 2018.
[17] M. T. Mamaghani, A. Kuhestani, and H. Behroozi, “Can a Multi-Hop Link Relying on Untrusted Amplify-and-Forward Relays Render Security?,” Wireless Net.., vol. 27, pp. 795–807, 2021.
[18] M. Letafati, A. Kuhestani, and H. Behroozi, “Three-Hop Untrusted Relay Networks with Hardware Imperfections and Channel Estimation Errors for Internet of Things,” IEEE Trans. Inf. Foren. Sec., vol. 15, pp. 2856–2868, 2020.
[19] H. Saedi, A. Mohammadi, and A. Kuhestani, “Characterization of Untrusted Relaying Networks in the Presence of an Adversary Jammer,” Wireless Net., vol. 26, pp. 2113–2124, 2020.
[20]   A. Bidokhti, S. M. Pournaghei, and A. H. Khalili, “A Generalized Scheme for Extracting Biometric Keys from Keystroke Dynamics,” Journal of Electronical & Cyber Defence, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 9–18, 2017 (In Persian).

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 April 2021
  • Revise Date: 23 December 2021
  • Accept Date: 09 August 2022
  • Publish Date: 23 September 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics