Secure Integrated Sensing and Communications (S-ISAC) Network

This paper tries to raise awareness of security and privacy issues associated with Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC). In the context of ISAC, sensing (or radar) and communication functionalities can work synergically, i.e., the two functionalities can benefit each other, which is both exciting and worrisome. Our concern is that ISAC exposes increased vulnerability and faces threats we never experienced before, while it offers tremendous opportunity. In the ISAC system not only can an attacker wirelessly sniff data transmitted by legitimate users, but can also locate them passively or actively via illuminating. For instance, sensing-assisted eavesdropping in ISAC is much easier than traditional eavesdropping. With the availability of precise sensing at sub-centimeter accuracy, an attacker gains much more information than just a MAC address. The stolen information can include location, speed and ambient condition, and may be in the format of images. Consequently, attacks can be more targeted and effective. In addition, as sensing becomes ubiquitous and collaborative sensing becomes easier, it is harder to preserve privacy and to manage the trustworthiness of a large number of participants. We introduce a secure ISAC (S-ISAC) framework and propose a number of solutions. In contrast to some information-theoretic works on ISAC security, we emphasize practical countermeasures from an ISAC-network perspective. We also propose a number of research topics that need to be addressed before the ISAC concept is fully adopted by the industry.