Physical Graph Based Wireless IoT Security with No Key Exchange (GraphSec)

The GraphSec project investigates the wireless security of IoT devices that monitor networked infrastructure systems.

The proliferation of low-cost IoT across a wide range of sectors has a transformative impact. Examples include water distribution networks, optic fibre networks, gas pipe networks and electricity power networks. In all these examples, an IoT sensor senses physical information, and transmit it (via wireless) to an edge or hub for processing. The cybersecurity threat is the IoT wireless channel, especially against computationally more powerful and jamming attackers.

The project will develop new communication security methods that exploit the physical information from the infrastructure to generate decentralised and robust cipher keys. This does not require digital key exchange and reduces the reliance on digital attributes for security. It has widespread application for IoT systems in infrastructure monitoring. The project will work with wireless network deployment and national infrastructure operators to ensure the innovation translates to real-world impact and influence best practice.