Eavesdropping Fresh Information: A Game Theoretical Approach in Dual Sender Networks

Abstract:
We analyze Age of Information (AoI) within dualsender networks, focusing on the strategic interplay between transmission rates and their optimization with eavesdropping concerns. Using a game-theoretical framework, we propose an objective function for each sender that jointly minimizes the age of information at the legitimate receiver and maximizes the same metric at the eavesdropper while avoiding congestion on the shared channel between senders. We derive numerical solutions for the choice of the offered traffic by the senders at the Nash Equilibrium (NE) considering a FCFS M/M/1 queuing model as the receiver’s buffer. We demonstrate that the presence of multiple senders that need to contend limited resources for transmission leads to lower utilities for each of them, as they end up limiting their transmissions even when they are aware of the fact that the eavesdropper is not overhearing their information. These findings can be used to analyze the strategic interaction aimed at securing communications, from both the perspective of attackers and defenders.