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Miao, Y.; Shao, Y.; Zhang, J. Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/54288 (accessed on 17 May 2024).
Miao Y, Shao Y, Zhang J. Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/54288. Accessed May 17, 2024.
Miao, Yuanyuan, Yu Shao, Jie Zhang. "Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/54288 (accessed May 17, 2024).
Miao, Y., Shao, Y., & Zhang, J. (2024, January 24). Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/54288
Miao, Yuanyuan, et al. "Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement." Encyclopedia. Web. 24 January, 2024.
Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/electronics13020265

With the development of wireless communication technology, more and more private information is transmitted through public channels, which increases the risk of information leakage. An intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) can be combined with backscatter technology and integrated into the wireless communication system. The integration of backscatter in IRS can enhance the communication security of the system by utilizing the power of the interference signal emitted by the active eavesdropper. The signal reflected by the IRS can reduce the impact of the eavesdropper’s interference signal and strengthen the required signal received by the legitimate user. This dual capability enhances the reliability of communication, fortifying the received signal quality for legitimate users in the system.

intelligent reflecting surface backscatter physical layer security

1. Introduction

With the development of wireless communication technology, more and more private information is transmitted through public channels, which increases the risk of information leakage. Numerous studies have been conducted on physical layer security in wireless communication [1][2][3]. However, the security rate of traditional secure communication methods is limited when the eavesdropper’s interference signal power is high [4]. To break this limit, an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) can be combined with backscatter technology and integrated into the wireless communication system. The integration of backscatter in IRS can enhance the communication security of the system by utilizing the power of the interference signal emitted by the active eavesdropper. The signal reflected by the IRS can reduce the impact of the eavesdropper’s interference signal and strengthen the required signal received by the legitimate user. This dual capability enhances the reliability of communication, fortifying the received signal quality for legitimate users in the system.
The IRS is capable of reflecting incident wireless signals, as a plane containing numerous passive reflecting elements constitutes it. As the demand for enhanced performance in various wireless communication systems continues to rise, there is a simultaneous increase in expectations for advanced wireless communication technologies. Beyond merely seeking an improved performance, there is a growing demand for solutions that offer low deployment costs and minimal power consumption. In response to this demand, intelligent reflecting surface technology has emerged. This technology aims to effectively enhance the performance of wireless communication systems while adhering to the requirements of cost effectiveness and energy efficiency. Each reflecting element of IRS has the capability to apply a phase shift to the incident signal, and when acting in unison, all reflective elements can jointly adjust their phase shifts [5]. The IRS is extensively used in wireless communications to enhance the communication performance in various ways [6]. By adaptively adapting the amplitude and phase shift of the reflective elements, the IRS can reconfigure the wireless propagation environment and enhance the desired signals [7][8][9], thereby effectively addressing channel fading and interference. Through the collaborative design of transmission beamforming at the transmitter and reflective beamforming at the IRS, communication systems assisted by IRS can achieve optimal transmission power [10][11] and maximum energy efficiency [12][13]. The system performance of IRS-assisted non-orthogonal multiple-access and orthogonal multiple-access networks for downlink and uplink transmission is described [14]. In practical application, the IRS stands out due to its light weight, low deformation, and flexible size adjustment. These characteristics simplify the installation and disassembly processes, allowing for easy and adaptable deployment. IRS can serve as an auxiliary device in wireless communication systems and can be flexibly integrated into it, with high compatibility.

2. Intelligent Reflecting Surface Backscatter-Based Secrecy Enhancement

The use of the IRS can increase the data rate of legitimate receivers while reducing the data rate of eavesdroppers, thereby enhancing the system’s security rate. The prevalent strategies for mitigating eavesdropping attacks such as artificial noise (AN) [1] and multi-antenna beamforming [2] suffer from high energy consumption, additional hardware costs, or optimization difficulties due to the high correlation between legitimate and illegitimate links. To maximize the security rate, Yu et al. jointly optimized the transmitted information beam, AN, and reflection coefficient [15]. Cui et al. investigated how to maximize the security rate of the communication system when the transmission power is fixed, and the reflection parameters set at the IRS are limited [4]. Shen et al. maximized the security rate of the multi-input single-output (MISO) communication via joint majorization of the emission covariance at the source and the phase shift matrix at the IRS [16]. A secure wireless body area networks’ (WBAN) transmission scheme based on IRS-assisted reinforcement learning is proposed, which enables coordinators to jointly optimize sensor encryption keys and transmission power, as well as IRS phase shift combat active eavesdropping [17]. This scheme also involves the balance of secure transmission games between coordinators and eavesdroppers.
The uniqueness of the backscatter channel provides important insights into the physical layer security of communication systems [3]. In backscatter communication systems, a backscatter transmitter modulates and reflects received radio frequency (RF) signals to transmit data, rather than generating RF signals independently [18]. This unique mechanism presents distinct challenges and opportunities for securing information transmission. Backscatter communication is generally categorized into three types: monostatic backscatter communication, bistatic backscatter communication, and ambient backscatter communication [19]. Ambient backscatter communication utilizes available ambient RF sources in the environment [20][21]. The characteristics of backscatter channels can be utilized to generate security keys. The unique features of backscatter communication can be used to establish security keys and thus enhance the security of the communication system. A lightweight cryptography-based approach to address the security of backscatter communication is presented in [22]. Ambient backscatter communication, which utilizes existing RF signals in the environment, can be leveraged for secure key generation. The randomness and variability in ambient signals can be used to generate cryptographic keys, enhancing the security of communication between devices. Although cryptography can achieve better security performance, it has limitations that rely on key generation, which can result in high communication overhead and computational complexity [3]. In order to break these limitations, research on physical layer security suitable for the characteristics of backscatter channels has been developed. The method of physical layer security is to utilize the characteristics of wireless channels to prevent eavesdroppers from obtaining information from transmitters. Physical layer security can be not only an alternative to cryptography but also a complement to enhance encryption technology. In addition, injecting artificially generated noise can deteriorate the eavesdropper’s channel conditions to enhance secure transmission [23].
Backscatter communication systems can use jamming to enhance security. The presence of interference in the backscatter channel can provide a diversity of communication paths, and the diversity of paths may make it more challenging for eavesdroppers to jam communications. Since backscatter devices utilize ambient signals or dedicated sources in the environment, they may not be as susceptible to traditional jamming techniques. This resilience contributes to the security of the communication link. The maximization of confidentiality in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) backscatter wireless systems is investigated by jointly optimizing the power supply of the injected AN and the precoding matrix [24]. An interference-based multi-tag scheduling method is proposed, which selects one tag for data transmission and another for AN generation to have a deleterious effect on the eavesdropper [25]. Backscatter systems can be designed to be resilient to traditional eavesdropping methods, offering a more secure communication channel. Backscatter communication can be used for secure localization and authentication in applications where device positioning and identity verification are critical. Backscatter communication is well suited for Internet of Things (IoT) applications where security and energy efficiency are crucial due to the low-power nature of backscatter devices. The researches of [26] provided an optimization framework that maximizes the secrecy rate of backscatter communications in multi-cell non-orthogonal multiple access networks and the reflection coefficients of the backscatter nodes are optimized for the presence of multiple eavesdroppers in each cell. To summarize, the inherent characteristics of backscatter communication systems, including their low power consumption, resistance to jamming, and adaptability to the RF environment, provide opportunities to enhance security in diverse applications, ranging from IoT networks to secure key generation. The combination of IRS and backscatter has been shown to have advantages in suppressing interference signals [27].
IRS [4][15][16][17] and backscatter [24][25][26] have demonstrated good performance, respectively, in physical layer security across various communication scenarios. As mentioned in the above works, the combination of IRS and backscatter has been developed to enhance the communication performance [27][28][29][30]. In secure communication, this combined technology deserves more in-depth research, especially under different communication scenarios.

References

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  4. Cui, M.; Zhang, G.; Zhang, R. Secure wireless communication via intelligent reflecting surface. IEEE Wirel. Commun. Lett. 2019, 8, 1410–1414.
  5. Chu, Z.; Hao, W.; Xiao, P.; Shi, J. Intelligent reflecting surface aided multi-antenna secure transmission. IEEE Wirel. Commun. Lett. 2020, 9, 108–112.
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  18. Kimionis, J.; Bletsas, A.; Sahalos, J.N. Bistatic backscatter radio for power-limited sensor networks. In Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), Atlanta, GA, USA, 9–13 December 2013; pp. 353–358.
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Subjects: Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Yuanyuan Miao
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Yu Shao
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Jie Zhang
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Revisions: 2 times (View History)
Update Date: 25 Jan 2024
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