Although modern wireless communication systems are highly robust against various transmission impairments, they do not have any inherent security features. Hence, additional encryption/decryption algorithms should be implemented to grant data security. Most information security algorithms are implemented in the higher layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The main limitation of such commonly designed ciphers is their low speed, which is a major drawback for todayโs broadband systems. Consequently, substantial research efforts were recently steered towards physical layer security (PLS) algorithms.
In this project, we exploit the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) structure to develop a low complexity secured communication system that relies on the sensitivity of OFDM-MIMO systems to synchronization errors. Furthermore, the proposed system has high immunity against multipath fading, jamming and impulsive noise due to the frequency, time and space diversity inherent to this system.
A prototype communication system is being implemented to demonstrate the functionality of the proposed security system. Extensive measurements will be performed to characterize the statistical performance of the developed system and to examine its suitability under realistic operating conditions. The new system is intended for applications, which require security and low-latency such as autonomous vehicles, video communications, and cyber-physical systems
