Multilayer Analog Digital System for Cyberdefence & Radio Surveillance. – SaintCyber

Nobody can deny the important consequences of a major wireless attack on our communication systems. In fact, wireless technologies along with smart communicating machines are invading our societies. In this manuscript, we can’t describe all existing wireless systems. Among major applications and services based on wireless transmission, we cite: mobile phone, radar, global navigation satellite systems GNSS (Global Navigation Positioning System (GPS), Galileo), Geolocation systems (ADS-B - Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasting, VDES - VHF Data Exchange System, or AIS - Automatic Identification System), wireless data transmission standards and systems (Wifi, Wimax, ZigBee, Bluetooth), Machine 2 Machine or Internet of Thing standards (Lora, SigFox, LTE-M, 3GPP), radio astronomy, smart grids.
Our receivers (base station, GPS, drones, satellites) are increasingly affected by many sources of interference. In addition to the interference of emitters in close proximity, we should also consider the noises or intentional interference signals generated in the context of a malicious radio attack (spoofing, RFID Eavesdropping, electronic warfare, etc.). In 2011, the Iranians succeeded in capturing the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 US Army drone. In 2013, US researchers from University of Texas managed to hack a $80 million yacht. In 2016, we published a study on the attacks of RFID introduced in passports, identity and visa cards. Nowadays, wireless attack can be achieved using low cost equipment. Therefore, our wireless systems become vulnerable and their protection becomes hardly achievable. We should also mention that our students succeeded in intercepting a drone by replicating its control signals.
In the cybersecurity and cyberdefence guide published in 2016 by the Francophony organization, they clearly mentioned that any major attack on our infrastructure systems will potential impacts on population, economy, national security and public safety. According to the importance of their applications, our systems may have different protection levels (using cryptography or other cyberdefence approaches of risk analysis or network security). Most of these methods are used to process digital data. Up to our knowledge, there are few methods applied near the antenna at the analog part of our receivers (filter, antenna coupling, balun). Inspired by our various studies in electronic warfare, Communication Intelligence and full duplex in cognitive Radio, our new project SaintCyber will increase the protection efficiency of our receivers using combined analog digital approaches.
SaintCyber is an innovative project aiming to enhance the security of our applications in the context of cyberdefence or electronic surveillance. Surely, our prototype will include some classic protection approaches (filters, baluns). Besides, the future architecture will be implemented in different blocks of our receivers. Our project will consider cooperative and blind approaches. Our study will cover analog circuits coupled with digital approaches to realize a multi-level system to immunize a radio station against various electromagnetic attacks or interferences. The innovative analog part of our system will focus on non-linear bijective functions generated by electronic circuits. In the digital part, we want to develop systems using single and/or multi-antennas:
1) Concerning the single antenna of the digital part, we are willing to develop hybrid methods based on multiscale and empiric decompositions along with analyzing methods of the instantaneous phase in order to intercept LPI signals (Low Probability of Intercept)
2) To complete our protection scheme, we will explore multichannel systems based on blind signal processing methods to identify interference signals
Finally, SaintCyber will be a continuation of previous activities of the three partner teams. Our previous studies published in hundreds of international journals and conferences.