Revolutionizing Physical Layer Security for Wireless Communications

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In the proposed research, we will develop revolutionary communication security mechanisms by questioning and rethinking fundamental assumptions (and functionalities) of current wireless communications systems. In wireless communications, sending data securely from the transmitter to the legitimate receiver(s) is an extremely important task. This issue of security is becoming even more critical as growing number of people use more wireless devices to send personal data for various reasons and to send sensitive data for credit card or online banking. As smartphones and tablets replace personal computers, wireless data traffic is growing exponentially: the global wireless data traffic is expected to rise from 5 Exabytes (10^18 bytes) in 2012 to 21 Exabytes in 2017 (more than 300% increase). Because adversaries may attempt to gain unauthorized access to data, the importance of secure data transmission cannot be over-emphasized. A current standard approach to secure data transmission is to use secret keys based on cryptography. These days, the wireless networks are evolving from point-to-point communications towards more complex and infrastructure-less networks such as ad hoc networks, cooperative networks, vehicular networks, etc. In these networks, multiple terminals are engaged in communication and the network topology can be very dynamic. In this case, key distribution or management based on classical cryptography becomes very challenging. Furthermore, the actual strength of security achieved by cryptography is sometimes questioned as computing power rapidly improves. To address these issues, a fundamentally new approach has recently received a lot of attention, namely, Physical Layer Security. The functions of a wireless system can be partitioned into multiple logical layers. The lowest layer is called the physical layer, which represents physical transmission of signals from the devices over physical wireless medium. In the new Physical Layer Security approach, the transmitted data is secured at this physical layer (rather than at higher layers where classical cryptography takes place). In the proposed research, we will revolutionize the physical layer security mechanisms. We will first question and study the security measure itself, which will give us valuable insights into fundamental security mechanisms. Then, examining two key issues, sampling and power control, of digital wireless systems, we will develop two new ground-breaking schemes: secure sampling and secure power control. Finally, we will study the security from the perspective of the eavesdropper, (rather than from the perspective of the transmitter). This is indeed a paradigm shift in the area of physical layer security. By understanding the most effective eavesdropper strategies, we will lay the groundwork to eventually build more secure wireless communications systems. The outcomes of the proposed research will provide Canadian industry with new and effective security mechanisms. In Canada, the economic contribution of wireless industry is profound: it contributes $43 billion and about 261,000 jobs. The proposed research will enable Canadian wireless companies to develop practical and cost-effective secure communications systems. Most of all, the proposed research is “specifically and strategically” designed to train HQP in two key areas: i) wideband wireless communications and ii) communications security at the physical layer including cryptography. In the proposed research program, 4 MSc and 5 PhD students will be trained to challenge existing fundamental assumptions in state-of-the-art communications systems to recognize and identify fundamental research issues, and to make innovative contributions in the area.