Edge AI-based Radio Frequency Fingerprinting for IoT Networks

The deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart cities and critical infrastructure has enhanced connectivity and real-time data exchange but introduced significant security challenges. While effective, cryptography can often be resource-intensive for small-footprint resource-constrained (i.e., IoT) devices. Radio Frequency Fingerprinting (RFF) offers a promising authentication alternative by using unique RF signal characteristics for device identification at the Physical (PHY)-layer, without resorting to cryptographic solutions. The challenge is two-fold: how to deploy such RFF in a large scale and for resource-constrained environments. Edge computing, processing data closer to its source, i.e., the wireless device, enables faster decision-making, reducing reliance on centralized cloud servers. Considering a modest edge device, we introduce two truly lightweight Edge AI-based RFF schemes tailored for resource-constrained devices. We implement two Deep Learning models, namely a Convolution Neural Network and a Transformer-Encoder, to extract complex features from the IQ samples, forming device-specific RF fingerprints. We convert the models to TensorFlow Lite and evaluate them on a Raspberry Pi, demonstrating the practicality of Edge deployment. Evaluations demonstrate the Transformer-Encoder outperforms the CNN in identifying unique transmitter features, achieving high accuracy (> 0.95) and ROC-AUC scores (> 0.90) while maintaining a compact model size of 73KB, appropriate for resource-constrained devices.

Extending RAIM with a Gaussian Mixture of Opportunistic Information

GNSS are indispensable for various applications, but they are vulnerable to spoofing attacks. The original receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) was not designed for securing GNSS. In this context, RAIM was extended with wireless signals, termed signals of opportunity (SOPs), or onboard sensors, typically assumed benign. However, attackers might also manipulate wireless networks, raising the need for a solution that considers untrustworthy SOPs. To address this, we extend RAIM by incorporating all opportunistic information, i.e., measurements from terrestrial infrastructures and onboard sensors, culminating in one function for robust GNSS spoofing detection. The objective is to assess the likelihood of GNSS spoofing by analyzing locations derived from extended RAIM solutions, which include location solutions from GNSS pseudorange subsets and wireless signal subsets of untrusted networks. Our method comprises two pivotal components: subset generation and location fusion. Subsets of ranging information are created and processed through positioning algorithms, producing temporary locations. Onboard sensors provide speed, acceleration, and attitude data, aiding in location filtering based on motion constraints. The filtered locations, modeled with uncertainty, are fused into a composite likelihood function normalized for GNSS spoofing detection. Theoretical assessments of GNSS-only and multi-infrastructure scenarios under uncoordinated and coordinated attacks are conducted. The detection of these attacks is feasible when the number of benign subsets exceeds a specific threshold. A real-world dataset from the Kista area is used for experimental validation. Comparative analysis against baseline methods shows a significant improvement in detection accuracy achieved by our Gaussian Mixture RAIM approach. Moreover, we discuss leveraging RAIM results for plausible location recovery.

Challenges of Radio Frequency Fingerprinting: From Data Collection to Deployment

Radio Frequency Fingerprinting (RFF) techniques promise to authenticate wireless devices at the physical layer based on inherent hardware imperfections introduced during manufacturing. Such RF transmitter imperfections are reflected into over-the-air signals, allowing receivers to accurately identify the RF transmitting source. Recent advances in Machine Learning, particularly in Deep Learning (DL), have improved the ability of RFF systems to extract and learn complex features that make up the device-specific fingerprint. However, integrating DL techniques with RFF and operating the system in real-world scenarios presents numerous challenges. This article identifies and analyzes these challenges while considering the three reference phases of any DL-based RFF system: (i) data collection and preprocessing, (ii) training, and finally, (iii) deployment. Our investigation points out the current open problems that prevent real deployment of RFF while discussing promising future directions, thus paving the way for further research in the area.

Probabilistic Detection of GNSS Spoofing using Opportunistic Information

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are integrated into many devices. However, civilian GNSS signals are usually not cryptographically protected. This makes attacks that forge signals relatively easy. Considering modern devices often have network connections and onboard sensors, the proposed here Probabilistic Detection of GNSS Spoofing (PDS) scheme is based on such opportunistic information. PDS has at its core two parts. First, a regression problem with motion model constraints, which equalizes the noise of all locations considering the motion model of the device. Second, a Gaussian process, that analyzes statistical properties of location data to construct uncertainty. Then, a likelihood function, that fuses the two parts, as a basis for a Neyman-Pearson lemma (NPL)-based detection strategy. Our experimental evaluation shows a performance gain over the state-of-the-art, in terms of attack detection effectiveness.

Using Mobile Phones for Participatory Detection and Localization of a GNSS Jammer

It is well known that GNSS receivers are vulnerable to jamming and spoofing attacks, and numerous such incidents have been reported in the last decade all over the world. The notion of participatory sensing, or crowdsensing, is that a large ensemble of voluntary contributors provides measurements, rather than relying on a dedicated sensing infrastructure. The participatory sensing network under consideration in this work is based on GNSS receivers embedded in, for example, mobile phones. The provided measurements refer to the receiver-reported carrier-to-noise-density ratio ($C/N_0$) estimates or automatic gain control (AGC) values. In this work, we exploit $C/N_0$ measurements to locate a GNSS jammer, using multiple receivers in a crowdsourcing manner. We extend a previous jammer position estimator by only including data that is received during parts of the sensing period where jamming is detected by the sensor. In addition, we perform hardware testing for verification and evaluation of the proposed and compared state-of-the-art algorithms. Evaluations are performed using a Samsung S20+ mobile phone as participatory sensor and a Spirent GSS9000 GNSS simulator to generate GNSS and jamming signals. The proposed algorithm is shown to work well when using $C/N_0$ measurements and outperform the alternative algorithms in the evaluated scenarios, producing a median error of 50 meters when the pathloss exponent is 2. With higher pathloss exponents the error gets higher. The AGC output from the phone was too noisy and needs further processing to be useful for position estimation.

Digital Twin-based Intrusion Detection for Industrial Control Systems

Digital twins have recently gained significant interest in simulation, optimization, and predictive maintenance of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Recent studies discuss the possibility of using digital twins for intrusion detection in industrial systems. Accordingly, this study contributes to a digital twin-based security framework for industrial control systems, extending its capabilities for simulation of attacks and defense mechanisms. Four types of process-aware attack scenarios are implemented on a standalone open-source digital twin of an industrial filling plant: command injection, network Denial of Service (DoS), calculated measurement modification, and naive measurement modification. A stacked ensemble classifier is proposed as the real-time intrusion detection, based on the offline evaluation of eight supervised machine learning algorithms. The designed stacked model outperforms previous methods in terms of F1-Score and accuracy, by combining the predictions of various algorithms, while it can detect and classify intrusions in near real-time (0.1 seconds). This study also discusses the practicality and benefits of the proposed digital twin-based security framework.

Participatory Sensing for Localization of a GNSS Jammer

GNSS receivers are vulnerable to jamming and spoofing attacks, and numerous such incidents have been reported worldwide in the last decade. It is important to detect attacks fast and localize attackers, which can be hard if not impossible without dedicated sensing infrastructure. The notion of participatory sensing, or crowdsensing, is that a large ensemble of voluntary contributors provides the measurements, rather than relying on dedicated sensing infrastructure. This work considers embedded GNSS receivers to provide measurements for participatory jamming detection and localization. Specifically, this work proposes a novel jamming localization algorithm, based on participatory sensing, that exploits AGC and C/N_0 estimates from commercial GNSS receivers. The proposed algorithm does not require knowledge of the jamming power nor of the channels, but automatically estimates all parameters. The algorithm is shown to outperform similar state-of-the-art localization algorithms in relevant scenarios.