EECS Seminar: Physical Layer Security for Dual-function Radar-Communication Systems

Abstract: Dual-function radar-communication (DFRC) systems are integrated sensing-communication systems that use the same waveform for simultaneously probing the surroundings and communicating with other equipment. DFRC systems offer high spectral, hardware and power efficiency, and as such are prime candidates for 6G wireless systems. Before the DFRC promise is realized, several issues need to be addressed. One of those issues is security. By embedding communication information in the probing waveform, DFRC systems are vulnerable to eavesdropping by the targets. In this talk we will present a novel physical layer security (PLS) system design for optimizing the communication secrecy rate while maintaining sufficient power in the target echoes to ensure high target sensing performance. We will also present a novel Directional Modulation approach for achieving PLS via Time Modulated arrays, via which, the DFRC system is designed to deliver the signal intact to the legitimate destination and scrambled in all other directions. We will examine the possibility of the target/eavesdropper defying the proposed security measures and investigate additional protection measures.

Bio: Athina P. Petropulu is Distinguished Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Rutgers, having served as chair of the department during 2010-2016. Her research interests span the area of statistical signal processing, wireless communications, signal processing in networking, physical layer security and radar signal processing. Petropulu is Fellow of IEEE and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and recipient of the 1995 Presidential Faculty Fellow Award given by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the White House. She has played key roles in her professional society, namely, she was 2022-2023 president of the IEEE Signal Processing Society, editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing (2009-2011) and IEEE Signal Processing Society vice president-conferences (2006-2008). She was technical program co-chair of the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP) general co-chair of the 2018 IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications (SPAWC), and general chair of the 2005 ICASSP. She was distinguished lecturer for the Signal Processing Society and the IEEE Aerospace & Electronics Systems Society. For her service, Petropulu has received the 2012 IEEE Signal Processing Society Meritorious Service Award. She is also co-recipient of the 2005 IEEE Signal Processing Magazine Best Paper Award, the 2020 and 2021 IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award (B. Li and F. Liu, respectively), the 2021 Barry Carlton Best Paper Award by IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, the 2023 IEEE Machine Learning in Signal Processing Workshop Best Student paper Award (S. Evmorfos) and the 2023 Stephen O. Rice Prize Best Paper Award by the IEEE Communications Society.