Wireless Security at the Physical layer – WiSePhy

The project WISEPHY will investigate physical-layer security schemes for wireless communications, a new emerging paradigm for secure communications that builds its theoretical foundations on information- theoretic principles. The general aim is to demonstrate through theoretical models, code design and proof-of- principle experiments that there is much to be gained by coding for security at the physical layer of wireless links. In fact, the security mechanisms of most wireless communications protocols are implemented in the upper layers of the communications architecture, assuming that the physical-layer has already been estab- lished. In contrast, several information-theoretic results suggest that the randomness inherently present in a wireless communication medium (fading, thermal noise, interference) can be harnessed to conceal infor- mation from potential eavesdroppers by coding at the physical-layer itself. This approach has been dubbed “physical-layer security” and has attracted considerable interest lately in the information theory community. Unfortunately, the promises of information theory have not yet translated into practical engineering solutions. Although the fundamental limits of secure communications over noisy channels are now better understood, few practical coding schemes exist that guarantee any level of physical-layer security.

The project WISEPHY aims at bridging the gap between information theory and engineering solutions by addressing several relevant aspects of physical-layer security. The originality of the project stems from a comprehensive “bottom-up” approach, which explores information theoretic, coding theoretic, experimental and cryptographic facets of the problem. In particular, two key aspects of the project that break new ground are the design, analysis and implementation of practical coding schemes, as well as the cryptanalysis of these coding schemes in realistic settings.