Is Wireless Channel Dependable for Security Provisioning?

无线系统和网络安全方面的最新进展利用无线信道特性，也称为链路签名，为无处不在的无线应用提供增强的、有时是唯一可用的安全解决方案；两个突出的例子是基于链路签名的秘密密钥生成和物理层认证。然而，目前的链路签名研究对敌手的推理能力做出了错误的假设，这将使合法系统在不知情的情况下面临严重的威胁。目的：本课题的目的是从根本上了解无线信道特性的对抗性推理的局限性，并开发更强大的基于链路签名的无线通信安全机制。研究典型无线环境中涉及重要物理传播因素的各种解析信道相关模型，并从敌手的角度探索有效的推理算法和实用设计，以确定现有无线安全机制的脆弱性。然后，将考虑两种方法来进一步加强当前的无线安全解决方案：一是利用多天线和协作通信技术来扰乱对抗推理过程；二是将密码技术集成到链路签名结构中以实现改进和有保障的保护。智力上的优点：智力上的优点是纠正了人们对链路签名安全性的广泛误解，并为开发新的无线安全机制建立了可靠的科学基础。更广泛的影响：更广泛的影响是当前和新兴无线设备和系统的安全性显著提高、跨学科教育以及对未来IT员工的全面培训。

Recent progress in wireless system and network security exploits wireless channel characteristics, also known as link signatures, to offer enhanced and sometimes the only available security solutions for ubiquitous wireless applications; two prominent examples are link-signature based secret key generation and physical layer authentication. However, it is found that the current link-signature study makes wrong assumptions about the adversary's inference capability, which will expose the legitimate systems to severe threats with little awareness.Objective: The objective of this project is to seek a fundamental understanding of the limits in adversarial inference of wireless channel characteristics, and develop stronger link-signature based security mechanisms for wireless communications. Various analytical channel correlation models involving important physical propagation factors in typical wireless environments will be investigated, and effective inference algorithms and practical designs will be explored from the adversary's position, to determine the vulnerability of existing wireless security mechanisms. Then, two approaches will be considered to further strengthen the current wireless security solutions: one is to exploit multiple-antenna and cooperative communication techniques to disrupt the adversarial inference process, and the other is to integrate cryptographic techniques into link-signature constructions to achieve improved and guaranteed protection.Intellectual merit: The intellectual merit is correction of a wide-spread misconception about the link-signature security, and establishment of a proven scientific foundation facilitating the development of new wireless security mechanisms. Broader impacts: The broader impacts are significantly improvement in the security of current and emerging wireless devices and systems, cross-disciplinary education, and well-rounded training of future IT workforce.