Sensing-then-Transmit: A Two-Phase Secure ISAC Framework

Speaker:  Shihao Yan, Edith Cowan University.

Time:        10:00 am, Apr.17th.

Location: SIST 2-215

Host:        Yong Zhou

Abstract:

This work develops a two-phase secure integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) framework, where a dual-function transmitter (Alice) detects the presence of a potential eavesdropper (Eve) as a sensing target in the first phase. In the second phase, Alice adapts her secure transmission strategy based on the sensing outcome of the first phase. A distinct aspect of our developed two-phase framework is the derivation of the overall effective secrecy rate across both phases. In our proposed framework, for system design, we aim to maximize the overall effective secrecy rate subject to Alice’s average transmit power over the two phases remaining below a predetermined threshold. To address the resulting non-convex design problem, an algorithm based on semi-definite relaxation (SDR) and double-layer optimization is proposed. In addition, two low-complexity solutions are developed to simplify the design of the transmit beamforming in the first phase. Our numerical results show that the proposed two-phase secure ISAC framework significantly enhances the secrecy rate compared to a conventional physical layer security (PLS) system if Eve is present with a low probability. This explicitly shows the effectiveness of exploiting sensing for enhancing the security of wireless communications.

Bio:

Dr. Shihao Yan received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, in 2015. He received the B.S. in Communication Engineering and the M.S. in Communication and Information Systems from Shandong University, Jinan, China, in 2009 and 2012, respectively. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Science, Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, Australia. He is awarded the Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers in 2023. He was a Technical Co-Chair and Panel Member of a number of IEEE conferences and workshops, including the IEEE GlobeCOM 2018 Workshop on Trusted Communications with Physical Layer Security and IEEE VTC 2017 Spring Workshop on Positioning Solutions for Cooperative ITS. He was also awarded the Endeavour Research Fellowship by the Department of Education, Australia. His current research interests are in the areas of signal processing for wireless communication security and privacy, including covert communications, covert sensing, location spoofing detection, radio frequency (RF)-based drone detection, IRS-aided wireless communications, and UAV-aided communications.