An active jamming-based helper deployment scheme for underwater acoustic sensor networks

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) are usually deployed in unattended, opaque and even hostile environments; thus, they may face serious threats. In the last few years, physical layer security (PLS) has emerged as a new technique that can improve the security performance of networks. In this paper, we research the physical layer security scheme of UASNs by actively jamming against eavesdropping attacks. Utilizing the large propagation delay of the underwater acoustic (UWA) signal, the jamming signals can interfere with legitimate signals to prevent eavesdropping. Therefore, we propose an active jamming-based helper deployment scheme (AJHDS) for UASNs, which deploys the helpers to the target water area and realizes the secure transmission of the network. Both the simulation and field test results show that the scheme can significantly reduce the interception capability of eavesdroppers. Furthermore, the field sea experiment evaluates that the location of helpers affects the eavesdropper’s acquisition of legitimate data packets.