An adversarial machine learning approach is introduced to launch jamming attacks on wireless communications and a defense strategy is presented. A cognitive transmitter uses a pre-trained classifier to predict the current channel status based on recent sensing results and decides whether to transmit or not, whereas a jammer collects channel status and ACKs to build a deep learning classifier that reliably predicts the next successful transmissions and effectively jams them. This jamming approach is shown to reduce the transmitter’s performance much more severely compared with random or sensing-based jamming. The deep learning classification scores are used by the jammer for power control subject to an average power constraint. Next, a generative adversarial network is developed for the jammer to reduce the time to collect the training dataset by augmenting it with synthetic samples. As a defense scheme, the transmitter deliberately takes a small number of wrong actions in spectrum access (in form of a causative attack against the jammer) and therefore prevents the jammer from building a reliable classifier. The transmitter systematically selects when to take wrong actions and adapts the level of defense to mislead the jammer into making prediction errors and consequently increase its throughput.
Machine learning has recently been applied to various problems in wireless communications @cite_26 @cite_32 . In particular, deep learning has shown its potential to learn complex spectrum environments. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was used in @cite_19 for spectrum sensing. A GAN was used in @cite_25 to augment the training data for spectrum sensing. Channel estimation was performed in @cite_16 using a feedforward neural network (FNN) and modulation classification was performed in @cite_0 using a CNN. A review on physical layer attacks of cognitive radio networks including sensing falsification, jamming and eavesdropping was provided in @cite_38 . An adaptive, jamming-resistant spectrum access protocol was proposed in @cite_10 for cognitive radio ad hoc networks, where there are multiple channels that the secondary users can utilize. Jamming games between a cognitive user and a smart jammer was considered in @cite_23 , where they individually determine their transmit powers.
@cite_38 @cite_26 @cite_32 @cite_0 @cite_19 @cite_23 @cite_16 @cite_10 @cite_25
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A novel approach of training data augmentation and domain adaptation is presented to support machine learning applications for cognitive radio. Machine learning provides effective tools to automate cognitive radio functionalities by reliably extracting and learning intrinsic spectrum dynamics. However, there are two important challenges to overcome, in order to fully utilize the machine learning benefits with cognitive radios. First, machine learning requires significant amount of truthed data to capture complex channel and emitter characteristics, and train the underlying algorithm (e.g., a classifier). Second, the training data that has been identified for one spectrum environment cannot be used for another one (e.g., after channel and emitter conditions change). To address these challenges, a generative adversarial network (GAN) with deep learning structures is used to 1) generate additional synthetic training data to improve classifier accuracy, and 2) adapt training data to spectrum dynamics. This approach is applied to spectrum sensing by assuming only limited training data without knowledge of spectrum statistics. Machine learning classifiers are trained to detect signals using either limited, augmented or adapted training data. Results show that training data augmentation increases the classifier accuracy significantly and this increase is sustained with domain adaptation while spectrum conditions change. This paper presents an adversarial machine learning approach to launch jamming attacks on wireless communications and introduces a defense strategy. In a cognitive radio network, a transmitter senses channels, identifies spectrum opportunities, and transmits data to its receiver in idle channels. On the other hand, an attacker may also sense channels, identify busy channels and aim to jam transmissions of legitimate users. In a dynamic system with complex channel, traffic and interference characteristics, the transmitter applies some pre-trained machine learning algorithm to classify a channel as idle or busy. This classifier is unknown to the attacker that senses a channel, captures the transmitter's decisions by tracking the acknowledgments and applies deep learning (in form of an exploratory attack, i.e., inference attack) to build a classifier that is functionally equivalent to the one at the transmitter. This approach is shown to support the attacker to reliably predict successful transmissions based on the sensing results and effectively jam these transmissions. Then, a defense scheme is developed against adversarial deep learning by exploiting the sensitivity of deep learning to training errors. The transmitter deliberately takes a small number of wrong actions (in form of a causative attack, i.e., poisoning attack, launched against the attacker) when it accesses the spectrum. The objective is to prevent the attacker from building a reliable classifier. For that purpose, the attacker systematically selects when to take wrong actions to balance the conflicting effects of deceiving the attacker and making correct transmission decisions. This defense scheme successfully fools the attacker into making prediction errors and allows the transmitter to sustain its performance against intelligent jamming attacks. In a cognitive radio network, the secondary users are allowed to utilize the frequency bands of primary users when these bands are not currently being used. To support this spectrum reuse functionality, the secondary users are required to sense the radio frequency environment, and once the primary users are found to be active, the secondary users are required to vacate the channel within a certain amount of time. Therefore, spectrum sensing is of significant importance in cognitive radio networks. There are two parameters associated with spectrum sensing: probability of detection and probability of false alarm. The higher the probability of detection, the better the primary users are protected. However, from the secondary users' perspective, the lower the probability of false alarm, the more chances the channel can be reused when it is available, thus the higher the achievable throughput for the secondary network. In this paper, we study the problem of designing the sensing duration to maximize the achievable throughput for the secondary network under the constraint that the primary users are sufficiently protected. We formulate the sensing-throughput tradeoff problem mathematically, and use energy detection sensing scheme to prove that the formulated problem indeed has one optimal sensing time which yields the highest throughput for the secondary network. Cooperative sensing using multiple mini-slots or multiple secondary users are also studied using the methodology proposed in this paper. Computer simulations have shown that for a 6 MHz channel, when the frame duration is 100 ms, and the signal-to-noise ratio of primary user at the secondary receiver is -20 dB, the optimal sensing time achieving the highest throughput while maintaining 90 detection probability is 14.2 ms. This optimal sensing time decreases when distributed spectrum sensing is applied. We consider a decentralized cognitive radio network in which autonomous secondary users seek spectrum opportunities in licensed spectrum bands. We assume that the primary users' channel occupancy follows a Markovian evolution, and formulate the spectrum sensing problem as a Decentralized Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (DEC-POMDP). We develop a distributed Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm that allows each autonomous cognitive radio to distributively learn its own spectrum sensing policy. The resulting decentralized sensing policy enables secondary users to non-cooperatively reach an equilibrium that leads to high utilization of idle channels while minimizing the collisions among secondary cognitive radios. Moreover, we propose a decentralized channel access policy that permits controlling, with high accuracy, the collision probability with primary users. Our numerical results validate the robustness of this collision probability control as the sensing noise changes. They also show the efficiency of the proposed learning algorithm in improving the spectrum utilization.