Survey on Hardware-based Physical Layer Authentication in Next Generation Networks

Abstract:
With the rise of mobile communication, ensuring security in wireless networks is paramount. Threats like manin- the-middle attacks, data leakage, and jamming pose risks. Authentication of devices is vital to safeguard integrity and legitimacy against such threats. Authentication mechanisms are the first step in this direction, enabling the network to stop malicious and unauthorized devices from accessing or injecting malicious data into the network, thereby leading to a wide range of security attacks. Physical layer authentication (PLA) schemes leverage the randomness and reciprocity of wireless channel characteristics, presenting a promising approach to overcome the limitations of higher-layer authentication schemes. These schemes capitalize on channel characteristics and hardware imperfections, which are considered stable for a coherent period, offering robust authentication solutions. While many researchers have focused on various PLA schemes to bolster wireless security, the literature needs a comprehensive overview of hardwarebased PLA schemes. This paper provides a detailed survey of different PLA Schemes based on hardware imperfections that have developed in recent years. We have compiled and developed a unified taxonomy for these PLA schemes. Further, we briefly analyze the recent trends and outline future research directions, offering insights into the evolving landscape of wireless security.