PhySec

Organization

News:

The organization will happen in our OLAT course.

Also the KIS entry is now online.

Lecture:

Tuesday from 14:00 - 15:30 in room 46-267

Exercise:

Thursday from 14:00 - 15:30 in room 46-110

Exam:

TBA

Contact:

Dr.-Ing. Eric Jedermann

Content

The module covers security mechanisms at the physical layer of modern communication systems, combining signal processing fundamentals with current research topics in physical layer security.

Part 1: Fundamentals of the Physical Layer (approx. 8 weeks)

This part introduces the technical foundations of digital communication systems, accompanied by exercises that provide hands-on experience in signal processing and signal analysis:

  1. Physical-layer vs. transport-layer security; digital vs. analog and wired vs. wireless communication
  2. Signal fundamentals: time and frequency domain, sampling rate, aliasing
  3. Software Defined Radio (SDR), GNU Radio, baseband and passband models
  4. Time and frequency synchronization, filtering, bandwidth vs. data rate
  5. Spectral efficiency, noise, SNR, and bit error rate
  6. Coding, error detection, and error-correcting codes
  7. Modulation, differential modulation, and spread spectrum techniques
  8. Design of digital communication systems and interaction between physical and link layer

Part 2: Physical Layer Security (approx. 4 weeks)

This part focuses on the analysis and discussion of current scientific literature on attacks and defense mechanisms at the physical layer:

  1. Authenticity and integrity: device fingerprinting, time-based fingerprints (e.g., TDOA)
  2. Confidentiality: channel-based security (secrecy capacity), direct-sequence spread spectrum
  3. Availability: jamming, adaptive code rates, frequency- and direct-sequence spread spectrum
  4. Location privacy: location leakage and protection mechanisms
  5. (Optional) Access control using distance estimation techniques (distance bounding)