Physical Layer Authentication using SDR's

This poster presents the implementation and evaluation of a physical layer authentication (PLA) scheme, specifically the superimposed (SUP) authentication method, using software-defined radios (SDRs). The SUP scheme embeds an authentication tag into the transmitted signal, enabling authentication directly at the physical layer. The study combines theoretical analysis, simulation, and real-time experimentation. Simulations using Rayleigh block-fading channels validate the theoretical predictions, showing a strong match between simulated and theoretical authentication probabilities. The experimental setup, utilizing GNU Radio and NI USRP-2901 SDRs, demonstrates error-free data transmission, channel equalization and successful real-time authentication operations, including tag regeneration, residual computation, and threshold comparison. Future research focuses on analyzing the effects of system parameters (e.g., tag length, tag energy allocation, false alarm probability) and integrating the SUP authentication method into existing IIoT communication protocols like IEEE 802.15.4.