Verification of Secret Key Generation from UWB Channel Observations

Abstract

Abstract-Theoretical models of ultrawideband (UWB) radio channels indicate that pairs of UWB radio transceivers measure their common radio channel with a high degree of agreement and third parties are not be able to accurately estimate the state of the common channels. These properties allow generation of secret keys to support secure communications from UWB channels measurements. In this paper, the results of UWB propagation studies are presented that validate the required properties to support secret key generation in a typical indoor environment. Key generation algorithms are employed on the measured data and key lengths on the order of thousands of bits are obtained capable of supporting most popular cryptographic systems. The paper also reports measurements of the spatial and temporal correlation of the UWB channel from which the relative privacy of the secret keys can be determined as well as the rate new secret keys may be generated.

Physical-Layer-Security Box: a concept for time-frequency channel-reciprocity key generation

“…UWB systems perform indoor localization and communication, in line with IEEE 802.15.4 [143][144][145][146]. Several works [147][148][149][150][151] have already performed investigations on PLS in UWB systems: [152] obtains a key generation rate of 18 bps and [41] shows that Eve correlation can reach 50%. However, to our knowledge, no investigation has been published so far regarding a time-frequency approach for UWB PLS key generation, such as the filterbank here presented.…”

Key Generation From Wireless Channels: A Review

“…Another aspect is amplitude of CIR. In an ultra wideband (UWB) system, the amplitude can be estimated by sending a pulse signal [39], [40], [56]- [59]. The UWB-based measurement systems are usually constructed by oscilloscope, waveform generator, etc.…”

Experimental Study on Key Generation for Physical Layer Security in Wireless Communications

“…In a rich multipath environment with uniform scattering, according to the Jakes model, when the number of scatters grows to infinity, the correlation function is the Bessel function of zeroth order and the signal decorrelates when d = 0.4λ (approximately half-wavelength) [35], which is the theoretic basis of spatial decorrelation. Some experiments have been carried out to verify this property in UWB systems [10]- [12] and IEEE 802.11g systems [36]. In contrast, spatial decorrelation has also been found to not hold in some channel conditions by simulation [37], [38] and experiments [38]- [40].…”