Design and Analysis of an Adaptive Physical Layer Security Architecture for Human-Centric and Machine-Integrated Communication Over Imperfect Transmission Channels
Keywords:
Physical Layer Security, Adaptive Security Architecture, Human-Centric Communication, Channel ImperfectionsAbstract
The evolution of next-generation communication systems has intensified the convergence of human-centric sensing, machine-to-machine interaction, and heterogeneous wireless environments, thereby exposing transmission channels to multifaceted security vulnerabilities. Traditional cryptographic mechanisms, while robust at higher layers, often fail to address dynamic threats emerging at the physical layer, particularly in environments characterized by channel imperfections, mobility, and resource-constrained devices. This research proposes and analyzes an adaptive physical layer security (PLS) architecture designed to enhance confidentiality, integrity, and authentication in human–machine integrated communication systems. The framework integrates channel reciprocity exploitation, physically unclonable functions (PUFs), biometric-driven authentication mechanisms, and adaptive key generation strategies to establish resilient security under stochastic channel conditions.
The proposed architecture builds upon foundational principles of wireless security evolution, including classical cryptographic theory (Diffie & Hellman, 1976), modern PLS classifications (Hamamreh et al., 2018), and emerging hardware-based trust anchors such as silicon PUFs (Gassend et al., 2002; Halak, 2018). Additionally, it incorporates insights from authentication system evaluation frameworks (Bonneau et al., 2012) to ensure systematic comparability of security effectiveness. The study also examines integration with IoT ecosystems (Kramp et al., 2013) and industrial communication paradigms (Hoffman, 2019), highlighting adaptive mechanisms for mitigating channel noise, interference, and adversarial eavesdropping.
Analytical modeling and comparative synthesis demonstrate that combining physical-layer randomness with hardware-rooted identity primitives significantly enhances resilience against replay, impersonation, and key extraction attacks. The results further indicate that adaptive PLS architectures outperform static security schemes in environments with high mobility and channel variability, particularly in 6G-oriented scenarios (Lipps et al., 2021). The research concludes that human–machine integrated communication systems require cross-layer security intelligence to maintain robust and scalable protection in imperfect transmission environments.
Downloads
References
1. Ahr, P., Lipps, C. and Schotten, H.D., "The PUF Commitment: Evaluating the Stability of SRAM-Cells", European Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security, Chester, United Kingdom, 2021.
2. Ahr, P., Noushinfar, M. and Lipps, C., 2021. "RAM-based PUFs: Comparing Static- and Dynamic Random Access Memory", Workshop on Next Generation Networks and Applications, Kaiserslautern, Germany, 2021.
3. Ambekar, A. & Schotten, H.D., "Enhancing Channel Reciprocity for Effective Key Management in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks", IEEE 79th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring). Seoul, South Korea, 2014.
4. Bidgoly, A.J., Bisgoly, H.J. and Arezoumand, Z., "A survey on methods and challenges in EEG based authentication", Computers & Security, Band 93, 2020.
5. Bonneau, J., Herley, C., van Oorschot, P. and Stajano, F., "The Quest to Replace Passwords: A Famework for Comparative Evaluation of Web Authentication Schemes", IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2012.
6. Diffie, W. and Hellman, M., "New directions in cryptography", IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 1976.
7. Djordjevic, I. B., "Physical-Layer Security and Quantum Key Distribution". 1st ed., Tucson, AZ, USA, Springer, 2019.
8. Gao, M., Lai, K. and Qu, G., "A Highly Flexible Ring-Oscillator PUF", Proceedings of the 51st Annual Automation Conference (DAC), 2014.
9. Gassend, B., Clarke, D., can Dijk, M. and Devadas, S., "Silicon Physical random Functions", Proceedings of the 9th ACM Conference on Computer and Communication Security, pp. 148 -- 160, 2002.
10. German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, "Ten Years of Industrie 4.0 - Germany Driving Industrial AI as the means to Future Value Creation", News 2021.
11. Halak, B., "Physically Unclonable Functions - From Basic Designn Principle to Advanced Haradware Security Apllications",1st Edition Hrsg. Southampton: Springer, 2018.
12. Hamamreh, J.M., Furqan, H.M. and Arslan, H., "Classifications and Applications of Physical Layer Security for Confidentiality: A Comprehensive Survey", IEEE Couumnications Surveys & Tutorial, 2018.
13. Hoffman, F., "Industrial Internet of Things Vulnerabilities and Threats: What Stakeholders Need to Consider", Issues in Information Systems, 2019.
14. Höller, A. and Toegl, R., "Trusted Platform Modules in Cyber-Physical Systems: On the Interference Between Security and Dependability", IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW), 2018.
15. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "ITU-T X.200 - Data Networks and Open System Communications - Open Systems Interconnection, Model and Notation", 1994.
16. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "X.800: Security Architecture for Open System Interconnection for CCITT Applications", 1991.
17. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), "IMT Traffic estimates for the years 2020 to 2030",M Series Mobile, radiodetermination, amateur and related satelliteservices Report ITU-R M.2370-0, 1994b.
18. Jain, A., Ross, A. and Prabhakar, S., "An introduction to biometric recognition" IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, 2004.
19. Khan, S., Shah, A.P., Chouhan, S.S., Gupta, N., Pandes, J.G. and Vishvakarma, S.K., "A Symmetric D Flip-Flop based PUF with improved Uniqueness", Micoelectronic Reliability, 2020.
20. Kramp, T., van Kranenburg, R. and Lange, S., "Introduction to the Internet of Things", In: A. Bassi, et al. Hrsg. Enabling Things to Talk: Designing IoT solutions with the IoT Architectural Reference Model. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2013.
21. Kumar, S.S., Guajardo, J., Maes, R. Schrijen, G.-J. and Tuyls, P., "The Butterfly PUF Protecting IP on every FGPA". Anaheim, CA, USA, IEEE International Workshop on Hardware-Oriented Security and Trust, 2008.
22. Lipps, C., Baradie, S., Noushinfar, M., Herbst, J., Weinand, A. and Schotten, H.D., "Towards the Sixth Generation (6G) Wireless Systems: Thoughts on Physical Layer Security", Mobile Communication - Technologies and Applications - 25. VDE/ITG Fachtagung Mobilkommunikation, 2021.
23. Lipps, C., Bergkemper, L. and Schotten, H.D., "Distinguishing Hearts: How Machine Learning identifies People based on their Heartbeat", Sixth International Conference on Advances in Biomedical Engineering (ICABME), Islamic University of Lebanon - Faculty of Engineering - Werdanyeh Campus, Lebanon, 2021b.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Fariba Momeni, Dr. Sina Asghari (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published by The Parthenon Frontiers and its associated journals are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International License unless otherwise stated.
Authors retain full copyright of their published work. By submitting their manuscript, authors agree to grant The Parthenon Frontiers a non-exclusive license to publish, archive, and distribute the article worldwide. Authors are free to:
-
Share their article on personal websites, institutional repositories, or social media platforms.
-
Reuse their content in future works, presentations, or educational materials, provided proper citation of the original publication.