A Millimeter-Wave Communication System for Wireless Security and Networking Research and Education
Abstract
The ever-increasing demand for massive connectivity, high capacity, reliability, and lower latency cannot be met by spectrum allocations in the overcrowded sub-6GHz bands. Higher frequency ranges that are less utilized, especially those in the millimeter-Wave (mmWave) bands are being explored to meet this challenge, such as the 28Ghz band in 5G NR. The mmWave technology leads to many new applications in ubiquitous computing, communications, and sensing. The 5G standard specifically, is envisioned as an enabling technology for the Internet-of-Battlefield Things (IoBT) and massive machine type communications. However, the widespread integration of mmWave communications in 5G and IoBT has been met with major reliability and security challenges. In terms of reliability, the unique mmWave signal propagation characteristics, such as high attenuation, blockage, and high directionality create new complex problems in beam tracking and channel access, routing and scheduling, as well as system coexistence. In terms of security, mmWave wireless networks face a number of known and new threats including eavesdropping and active attacks like signal injection, modification, jamming, and other advanced manipulations. While a subset of these threats have been widely studied in sub-6Ghz networks, they are far-less explored in the mmWave bands. Due to the unique signal propagation characteristics, the existing threat models and security assumptions must be revisited in the mmWave context to ensure the reliable and secure network operation. In several of our past and ongoing projects, we study the wireless security and networking problems of sub-6GHz communications. In this project, we aim to enhance our capabilities in addressing unexplored challenges in security, privacy, and reliability in mmWave communications by acquiring a state-of-the-art mmWave testbed consisting of six mmWave transceivers and one spectrum analyzer working in the 28Ghz band. The proposed testbed is built from software-defined radios and commercial-off-the-shelf hardware, which allows us to flexibly implement various applications due to its programmability and reconfigurability. Specifically, the proposed infrastructure will advance our research on a wide range of topics directly funded by the DoD and of DoD interest, including: trust establishment and management in wireless networks, physical layer security in mmWave, security and privacy in CPS and IoT (e.g., connected autonomous vehicles and unmanned aerial systems), performance enhancement via multi-hop networking, and fair and secure coexistence of heterogeneous systems in mmWave. The testbed will enable the understanding, modeling, and experimental validation of fundamental security and networking related signal propagation properties of mmWave bands, and the systematic study of attack vectors and defenses in this domain. Moreover, it will provide invaluable hands-on education opportunities for the graduate and undergraduate students that are part of our research groups and those who take courses in security, communications, networking, CPS, and IoT. Combined with our existing lab facilities, such a testbed would significantly strengthen our wireless and security research and education capabilities at the University of Arizona.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110122
Entities
People
- Ming Li
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Arizona