Proactive Anti-Eavesdropping With Trap Deployment in Wireless Networks

Due to the open nature of the wireless medium, wireless communications are especially vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks. This article designs a new wireless communication system to deal with eavesdropping attacks. The proposed system can enable a legitimate receiver to get desired messages and meanwhile an eavesdropper to hear “fake” but meaningful messages by combining confidentiality and deception, thereby confusing the eavesdropper and achieving additional concealment that further protects exchanged messages. Towards this goal, we propose techniques that can conceal exchanged messages by utilizing wireless channel characteristics between the transmitter and the receiver, as well as techniques that can attract an eavesdropper to gradually approach a trap region, where the eavesdropper can get fake messages. We also provide both theoretical and empirical analysis of the established secure channel between the transmitter and the receiver. We develop a prototype system using Universal Software Defined Radio Peripherals (USRPs). Experimental results show that an eavesdropper at a trap location can receive fake information with a bit error rate (BER) close to 0, and the transmitter with multiple antennas can successfully deploy a trap area.