{"title":"A Tutorial on Environment-Aware Communications via Channel Knowledge Map for 6G","authors":"Yong Zeng;Junting Chen;Jie Xu;Di Wu;Xiaoli Xu;Shi Jin;Xiqi Gao;David Gesbert;Shuguang Cui;Rui Zhang","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3364508","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3364508","url":null,"abstract":"Sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication networks are expected to have dense infrastructures, large antenna size, wide bandwidth, cost-effective hardware, diversified positioning methods, and enhanced intelligence. Such trends bring both new challenges and opportunities for the practical design of 6G. On one hand, acquiring channel state information (CSI) in real time for all wireless links becomes quite challenging in 6G. On the other hand, there would be numerous data sources in 6G containing high-quality location-tagged channel data, e.g., the estimated channels or beams between base station (BS) and user equipment (UE), making it possible to better learn the local wireless environment. By exploiting this new opportunity and for tackling the CSI acquisition challenge, there is a promising paradigm shift from the conventional environment-unaware communications to the new environment-aware communications based on the novel approach of channel knowledge map (CKM). This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview on environment-aware communications enabled by CKM to fully harness its benefits for 6G. First, the basic concept of CKM is presented, followed by the comparison of CKM with various existing channel inference techniques. Next, the main techniques for CKM construction are discussed, including both environment model-free and environment model-assisted approaches. Furthermore, a general framework is presented for the utilization of CKM to achieve environment-aware communications, followed by some typical CKM-aided communication scenarios. Finally, important open problems in CKM research are highlighted and potential solutions are discussed to inspire future work.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1478-1519"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139953572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tiep M. Hoang;Alireza Vahid;Hoang Duong Tuan;Lajos Hanzo
{"title":"Physical Layer Authentication and Security Design in the Machine Learning Era","authors":"Tiep M. Hoang;Alireza Vahid;Hoang Duong Tuan;Lajos Hanzo","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3363639","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3363639","url":null,"abstract":"Security at the physical layer (PHY) is a salient research topic in wireless systems, and machine learning (ML) is emerging as a powerful tool for providing new data-driven security solutions. Therefore, the application of ML techniques to the PHY security is of crucial importance in the landscape of more and more data-driven wireless services. In this context, we first summarize the family of bespoke ML algorithms that are eminently suitable for wireless security. Then, we review the recent progress in ML-aided PHY security, where the term “PHY security” is classified into two different types: i) PHY authentication and ii) secure PHY transmission. Moreover, we treat NNs as special types of ML and present how to deal with PHY security optimization problems using NNs. Finally, we identify some major challenges and opportunities in tackling PHY security challenges by applying carefully tailored ML tools.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1830-1860"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139938435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data and Model Poisoning Backdoor Attacks on Wireless Federated Learning, and the Defense Mechanisms: A Comprehensive Survey","authors":"Yichen Wan;Youyang Qu;Wei Ni;Yong Xiang;Longxiang Gao;Ekram Hossain","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361451","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361451","url":null,"abstract":"Due to the greatly improved capabilities of devices, massive data, and increasing concern about data privacy, Federated Learning (FL) has been increasingly considered for applications to wireless communication networks (WCNs). Wireless FL (WFL) is a distributed method of training a global deep learning model in which a large number of participants each train a local model on their training datasets and then upload the local model updates to a central server. However, in general, non-independent and identically distributed (non-IID) data of WCNs raises concerns about robustness, as a malicious participant could potentially inject a “backdoor” into the global model by uploading poisoned data or models over WCN. This could cause the model to misclassify malicious inputs as a specific target class while behaving normally with benign inputs. This survey provides a comprehensive review of the latest backdoor attacks and defense mechanisms. It classifies them according to their targets (data poisoning or model poisoning), the attack phase (local data collection, training, or aggregation), and defense stage (local training, before aggregation, during aggregation, or after aggregation). The strengths and limitations of existing attack strategies and defense mechanisms are analyzed in detail. Comparisons of existing attack methods and defense designs are carried out, pointing to noteworthy findings, open challenges, and potential future research directions related to security and privacy of WFL.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1861-1897"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139953571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuan Li;Hao Zhang;Chen Zhang;Tao Huang;F. Richard Yu
{"title":"A Survey of Quantum Internet Protocols From a Layered Perspective","authors":"Yuan Li;Hao Zhang;Chen Zhang;Tao Huang;F. Richard Yu","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361662","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361662","url":null,"abstract":"With the development of quantum technologies, the quantum Internet has demonstrated unique applications beyond the classical Internet and has been investigated extensively in recent years. In the construction of conventional Internet software, the protocol stack is the core architecture for coordinating modules. How to design a protocol stack for the quantum Internet is a challenging problem. In this paper, we systematically review the latest developments in quantum Internet protocols from the perspective of protocol stack layering. By summarizing and analyzing the progress in each layer’s protocols, we reveal the current research status and connections among the layers. Our work provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of the quantum Internet and can help support researchers focusing on a single layer to better define the functions that the layer should possess and optimize related protocols. This approach enables all layers to work better together based on an understanding of the other layers.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1606-1634"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139953671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Survey of Beam Management for mmWave and THz Communications Towards 6G","authors":"Qing Xue;Chengwang Ji;Shaodan Ma;Jiajia Guo;Yongjun Xu;Qianbin Chen;Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361991","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3361991","url":null,"abstract":"Communication in millimeter wave (mmWave) and even terahertz (THz) frequency bands is ushering in a new era of wireless communications. Beam management, namely initial access and beam tracking, has been recognized as an essential technique to ensure robust mmWave/THz communications, especially for mobile scenarios. However, narrow beams at higher carrier frequency lead to huge beam measurement overhead, which has a negative impact on beam acquisition and tracking. In addition, the beam management process is further complicated by the fluctuation of mmWave/THz channels, the random movement patterns of users, and the dynamic changes in the environment. For mmWave and THz communications toward 6G, we have witnessed a substantial increase in research and industrial attention on artificial intelligence (AI), reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), and integrated sensing and communications (ISAC). The introduction of these enabling technologies presents both open opportunities and unique challenges for beam management. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey on mmWave and THz beam management. Further, we give some insights on technical challenges and future research directions in this promising area.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1520-1559"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139938433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yafeng Yin;Lei Xie;Zhiwei Jiang;Fu Xiao;Jiannong Cao;Sanglu Lu
{"title":"A Systematic Review of Human Activity Recognition Based on Mobile Devices: Overview, Progress and Trends","authors":"Yafeng Yin;Lei Xie;Zhiwei Jiang;Fu Xiao;Jiannong Cao;Sanglu Lu","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3357591","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3357591","url":null,"abstract":"Due to the ever-growing powers in sensing, computing, communicating and storing, mobile devices (e.g., smartphone, smartwatch, smart glasses) become ubiquitous and an indispensable part of people’s daily life. Until now, mobile devices have been adopted in many applications, e.g., exercise assessment, daily life monitoring, human-computer interactions, user authentication, etc. Among the various applications, Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is the core technology behind them. Specifically, HAR gets the sensor data corresponding to human activities based on the built-in sensors of mobile devices, and then adopts suitable recognition approaches to infer the type of activity based on sensor data. The last two decades have witnessed the ever-increasing research in HAR. However, new challenges and opportunities are emerging, especially for HAR based on mobile devices. Therefore, in this paper, we review the research of HAR based on mobile devices, aiming to advance the following research in this area. Firstly, we give an overview of HAR based on mobile devices, including the general rationales, main components and challenges. Secondly, we review and analyze the research progress of HAR based on mobile devices from each main aspect, including human activities, sensor data, data preprocessing, recognition approaches, evaluation standards and application cases. Finally, we present some promising trends in HAR based on mobile devices for future research.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 2","pages":"890-929"},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139938434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Revolutionizing Future Connectivity: A Contemporary Survey on AI-Empowered Satellite-Based Non-Terrestrial Networks in 6G","authors":"Shadab Mahboob;Lingjia Liu","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2023.3347145","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2023.3347145","url":null,"abstract":"Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are expected to be a critical component of 6th Generation (6G) networks, providing ubiquitous, continuous, and scalable services. Satellites emerge as the primary enabler for NTN, leveraging their extensive coverage, stable orbits, scalability, and adherence to international regulations. However, satellite-based NTN presents unique challenges, including long propagation delay, high Doppler shift, frequent handovers, spectrum sharing complexities, and intricate beam and resource allocation, among others. The integration of NTNs into existing terrestrial networks in 6G introduces a range of novel challenges, including task offloading, network routing, network slicing, and many more. To tackle all these obstacles, this paper proposes Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a promising solution, harnessing its ability to capture intricate correlations among diverse network parameters. We begin by providing a comprehensive background on NTN and AI, highlighting the potential of AI techniques in addressing various NTN challenges. Next, we present an overview of existing works, emphasizing AI as an enabling tool for satellite-based NTN, and explore potential research directions. Furthermore, we discuss ongoing research efforts that aim to enable AI in satellite-based NTN through software-defined implementations, while also discussing the associated challenges. Finally, we conclude by providing insights and recommendations for enabling AI-driven satellite-based NTN in future 6G networks.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 2","pages":"1279-1321"},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139938437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
André Cirne;Patrícia R. Sousa;João S. Resende;Luís Antunes
{"title":"Hardware Security for Internet of Things Identity Assurance","authors":"André Cirne;Patrícia R. Sousa;João S. Resende;Luís Antunes","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3355168","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3355168","url":null,"abstract":"With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, there is an increasing need to prioritize their security, especially in the context of identity and authentication mechanisms. However, IoT devices have unique limitations in terms of computational capabilities and susceptibility to hardware attacks, which pose significant challenges to establishing strong identity and authentication systems. Paradoxically, the very hardware constraints responsible for these challenges can also offer potential solutions. By incorporating hardware-based identity implementations, it is possible to overcome computational and energy limitations, while bolstering resistance against both hardware and software attacks. This research addresses these challenges by investigating the vulnerabilities and obstacles faced by identity and authentication systems in the IoT context, while also exploring potential technologies to address these issues. Each identified technology underwent meticulous investigation, considering known security attacks, implemented countermeasures, and an assessment of their pros and cons. Furthermore, an extensive literature survey was conducted to identify instances where these technologies have effectively supported device identity. The research also includes a demonstration that evaluates the effectiveness of hardware trust anchors in mitigating various attacks on IoT identity. This empirical evaluation provides valuable insights into the challenges developers encounter when implementing hardware-based identity solutions. Moreover, it underscores the substantial value of these solutions in terms of mitigating attacks and developing robust identity frameworks. By thoroughly examining vulnerabilities, exploring technologies, and conducting empirical evaluations, this research contributes to understanding and promoting the adoption of hardware-based identity and authentication systems in secure IoT environments. The findings emphasize the challenges faced by developers and highlight the significance of hardware trust anchors in enhancing security and facilitating effective identity solutions.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 2","pages":"1041-1079"},"PeriodicalIF":35.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139953599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-Quantum Blockchain Security for the Internet of Things: Survey and Research Directions","authors":"Hadi Gharavi;Jorge Granjal;Edmundo Monteiro","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3355222","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3355222","url":null,"abstract":"Blockchain is becoming increasingly popular in the business and academic communities because it can provide security for a wide range of applications. Therefore, researchers have been motivated to exploit blockchain characteristics, such as data immutability, transparency, and resistance to single-point failures in the Internet of Things (IoT), to increase the security of the IoT ecosystem. However, many existing blockchains rely on classical cryptosystems such as the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) and SHA-256 to validate transactions, which will be compromised by Shor and Grover’s algorithms running on quantum computers in the foreseeable future. Post-Quantum Cryptosystems (PQC) are an innovative solution for resisting quantum attacks that can be applied to blockchains, resulting in the creation of a new type of blockchain known as Post-Quantum Blockchains (PQB). In this survey, we will look at the different types of PQC and their recent standard primitives to determine whether they can enable security for blockchain-based IoT applications. It also briefly introduces blockchain and outlines recent blockchain-IoT application proposals. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine how post-quantum blockchains are being developed and how they can be used to create security mechanisms for different IoT applications. Finally, this study explores the main challenges and potential research directions that arise from integrating quantum-resistance blockchains into IoT ecosystems.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"1748-1774"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139953601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joohyung Lee;Faranaksadat Solat;Tae Yeon Kim;H. Vincent Poor
{"title":"Federated Learning-Empowered Mobile Network Management for 5G and Beyond Networks: From Access to Core","authors":"Joohyung Lee;Faranaksadat Solat;Tae Yeon Kim;H. Vincent Poor","doi":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3352910","DOIUrl":"10.1109/COMST.2024.3352910","url":null,"abstract":"The fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless networks are envisioned to provide an integrated communication and computing platform that will enable multipurpose and intelligent networks driven by a growing demand for both traditional end users and industry verticals. This evolution will be realized by innovations in both core and access capabilities, mainly from virtualization technologies and ultra-dense networks, e.g., software-defined networking (SDN), network slicing, network function virtualization (NFV), multi-access edge computing (MEC), terahertz (THz) communications, etc. However, those technologies require increased complexity of resource management and large configurations of network slices. In this new milieu, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), network operators will strive to enable AI-empowered network management by automating radio and computing resource management and orchestration processes in a data-driven manner. In this regard, most of the previous AI-empowered network management approaches adopt a traditional centralized training paradigm where diverse training data generated at network functions over distributed base stations associated with MEC servers are transferred to a central training server. On the other hand, to exploit distributed and parallel processing capabilities of distributed network entities in a fast and secure manner, federated learning (FL) has emerged as a distributed AI approach that can enable many AI-empowered network management approaches by allowing for AI training at distributed network entities without the need for data transmission to a centralized server. This article comprehensively surveys the field of FL-empowered mobile network management for 5G and beyond networks from access to the core. Specifically, we begin with an introduction to the state-of-the-art of FL by exploring and analyzing recent advances in FL in general. Then, we provide an extensive survey of AI-empowered network management, including background on 5G network functions, mobile traffic prediction, and core/access network management regarding standardization and research activities. We then present an extensive survey of FL-empowered network management by highlighting how FL is adopted in AI-empowered network management. Important lessons learned from this review of AI and FL-empowered network management are also provided. Finally, we complement this survey by discussing open issues and possible directions for future research in this important emerging area.","PeriodicalId":55029,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials","volume":"26 3","pages":"2176-2212"},"PeriodicalIF":34.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139947841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}