Communications of the ACM
Prestigious Reis Prize Awarded to 31-Year-Old Information Theorist
Holger Boche (left) and Rafael Schaefer, winner of the Johann Philipp Reis Prize, discuss their novel security system for wireless communications.
Credit: U. Benz/Technical University Munich
Researchers at Technical University Munich (TUM) have developed a security system for wireless communications that would prevent a would-be eavesdropper from receiving transmitted information. The scheme uses two physical channels--frequency bands in a wireless system--that are inherently useless, being incapable of securely transmitting a message.
The researchers say their approach offers advantages over higher-level techniques such as encryption. Moreover, the system provides a capability thought only possible with futuristic quantum communications technologies.
"We find that we are able to 'super-activate' the whole system, meaning that combining two useless channels can lead to a positive capacity to transmit confidential messages securely," says researcher Rafael Schaefer.
TUM professor Holger Boche also notes "to the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of super-activation--where zero plus zero is greater than zero--in classical communication scenarios."
Boche and Schaefer also have ascertained how to calculate the secrecy capacity of physical-layer channels designed to thwart wiretappers, and have characterized the code structure and optimal transceiver design for deploying this scheme.
From Technical University Munich (Germany)
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