›› MIND Lab Seminar Series: 15 October 2007

Physical Layer Authentication

Archana Ragothaman
M.S. Student in Telecommunications, University of Maryland at College Park

›› Logistics

Date: Monday, 15 October 2007

Time: 2:00p to 3:00p

Location: AVW 3258

›› Abstract

In both private and commercial transactions, authentication of information (message) is of vital concern to all participants. Authentication is the process where claims of identity are verified. Most mechanisms of authentication (e.g., digital signatures and certificates) exist above the physical layer, though some (e.g., spread spectrum) exist at the physical layer often with an additional cost in bandwidth. The presentation will throw light on a novel technique used for physical layer authentication where the authentication information is transmitted concurrently with the data. By superimposing a carefully designed secret modulation on the waveforms, authentication is added to the signal without requiring additional bandwidth, as in case of spread spectrum techniques. The authentication is designed to be stealthy to unaware users, secure from malicious sources and robust from channel interference. The authentication technique can also be used for channel estimation. A brief overview of practical implementation of the scheme using USRP will also be discussed.