Group Secret Key Agreement Based on Radio Propagation Characteristics in Wireless Relaying Systems

Takayuki SHIMIZU  Hisato IWAI  Hideichi SASAOKA  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Communications   Vol.E95-B   No.7   pp.2266-2277
Publication Date: 2012/07/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1345
DOI: 10.1587/transcom.E95.B.2266
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: PAPER
Category: Fundamental Theories for Communications
Keyword: 
wireless security,  secret key agreement,  radio propagation,  multiple terminals,  wireless relaying system,  

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Summary: 
We consider secret key agreement for multiple terminals based on radio propagation characteristics in a wireless relaying system where more than two terminals communicate with each other via a relay. In this system, the multiple terminals share a common secret key generated from their radio propagation characteristics with the help of the relay in the presence of an eavesdropper. In this paper, we present three secret key agreement schemes: an amplify-and-forward (AF) scheme, a signal-combining amplify-and-forward (SC-AF) scheme, and a multiple-access amplify-and-forward (MA-AF) scheme. The key idea of these schemes is that each terminal shares the fading coefficients between all terminals and the relay, and use them as the source of a secret key. The AF scheme is based on a conventional amplify-and-forward two-way relaying method, whereas in the SC-AF scheme and the MA-AF scheme, we apply the idea of analog network coding to secret key agreement. We analyze eavesdropping strategies and show that the AF scheme is not secure if the eavesdropper is located near the relay and can receive signals from the relay without multipath fading and noise. Simulation results show that the SC-AF and MA-AF schemes are effective.