Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications
Cybersecurity in radio frequency (RF) technologies has become a critical concern, driven by the expansion of connected systems in urban and industrial environments. Although research on wireless networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) has advanced, comprehensive studies that provide a global and integrated view of cybersecurity development in this field remain limited. This work presents a scientometric and systematic review of international publications from 2009 to 2025, integrating the PRISMA protocol with semantic screening supported by a Large Language Model to enhance classification accuracy and reproducibility. The analysis identified two interdependent axes: one focusing on signal integrity and authentication in GNSS systems and cellular networks; the other addressing the resilience of IoT networks, both strongly associated with spoofing and jamming, as well as replay, relay, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. The results highlight the relevance of RF cybersecurity in securing communication infrastructures and expose gaps in widely adopted technologies such as RFID, NFC, BLE, ZigBee, LoRa, Wi-Fi, and unlicensed ISM bands, as well as in emerging areas like terahertz and 6G. These gaps directly affect the reliability and availability of IoT and wireless communication systems, increasing security risks in large-scale deployments such as smart cities and cyber-physical infrastructures.
Authors
- Décio R. M. Faria
- José Antonio Moreira de Rezende
- Otávio de Souza Martins Gomes
- Patrícia Rodrigues de Araújo
Institutions
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Minas Gerais (BR)
- Universidade Federal de Itajubá (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Sensors
- Published
- 2026-01-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747
- Primary Topic
- RFID technology advancements
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos
- Universidade Federal de Itajubá