Physical layer security for connected autonomous vehicles

Secure data exchange between communicating vehicles is one of the greatest technical challenges pending to be addressed prior to mass production of fully autonomous vehicles. The security solution has to be energy-efficient and adaptable to any wireless propagation environment in which connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) operate. The proposed communication security solution relies on symmetric cryptographic key establishment and authentication enhancement by exploiting the physical layer characteristics of the wireless propagation environment. In the international literature, it has been named as physical layer security (PLS) and proven to be an ideal candidate for secure communications with strict constrains on computational resources and power consumption. Starting from a very thorough literature review, the PhD candidate will have to understand and become familiar with the most recent advances in PLS and how this can be implemented in CAVs. Accordingly, the PhD candidate will have to understand the algorithmic solutions and steps involved in the key establishment and authentication enhancement processes, including vehicular channel modeling, estimation, and simulation, received signal quantization, information reconciliation and privacy amplification. The final goal is to develop a symmetric cryptographic key establishment algorithm and evaluate its performance according to certain key performance indicators such as the key generation rate and key entropy. The symmetric key can then be used for essential security operations in CAVs, such as encryption and authentication.

Academic qualifications 

A first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level, or equivalent achievements ideally in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or Mathematics. 

English language requirement 

If your first language is not English, comply with the University requirements for research degree programmes in terms of English language. 

Application process 

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the supervisor, Dr Petros Karadimas ([Email Address Removed]) to discuss the content of the project and the fit with their qualifications and skills before preparing an application. 

The application must include:  

Research project outline of 2 pages (list of references excluded). The outline may provide details about 

• Background and motivation, explaining the importance of the project, should be supported also by relevant literature. You can also discuss the applications you expect for the project results. 
• Research questions or 
• Methodology: types of data to be used, approach to data collection, and data analysis methods. 
• List of references 

The outline must be created solely by the applicant. Supervisors can only offer general discussions about the project idea without providing any additional support. 

• Statement no longer than 1 page describing your motivations and fit with the project. 
• Recent and complete curriculum vitae. The curriculum must include a declaration regarding the English language qualifications of the candidate. 
• Supporting documents will have to be submitted by successful candidates. 
• Two academic references (but if you have been out of education for more than three years, you may submit one academic and one professional reference), on the form can be downloaded here. 

Applications can be submitted here.

Download a copy of the project details here.