Security issues in software-defined radio: a review

Abstract Due to its high data transmission rates, low power consumption, and excellent scalability, software-defined radio (SDR) has increasingly been applied in various fields, such as emergency communications and the internet of things. The successful deployment of SDR depends on the design and implementation of its security mechanisms. However, security threats may compromise fundamental functions through application management, data configuration, or transmission. This paper presents SDR’s basic architecture and security structure, analyzes its security requirements and threats, and elaborates on a series of SDR security detection and protection techniques, proposing several future development directions and challenges.