Physical layer security in MIMO power line communication networks

It has well been established that multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission using multiple conductors can improve the data rate of power line communication (PLC) systems. In this paper, we investigate whether the presence of multiple conductors could also facilitate the communication of confidential messages by means of physical layer security methods. In particular, this paper focuses on the secrecy capacity of MIMO PLC. Numerical experiments show that multi-conductor PLC networks can enable a more secure communication compared to the single conductor case. On the other hand, we demonstrate that the keyhole property of PLC channels generally diminishes the secure communication capability compared to what would be achieved in a similar wireless communications setting.