Power Allocation for Cooperative Jamming Against a Strategic Eavesdropper Over Parallel Channels

This paper considers a friendly interferer allocating jamming power to eavesdropping channels to increase the level of secrecy of a wireless network. The friendly interferer has access to limited power, while the eavesdropper may not have the ability to attack all channels simultaneously. When all channels used for secret communication are under the threat of eavesdropping attacks, the optimal power allocation policy results from solving a convex optimization problem. In this case, the optimal policy is unique and can be obtained via a water-filling scheme. When the eavesdropper can not attack all channels, the eavesdropper should behave strategically and may select targets probabilistically. We propose a non-zero-sum game that helps the friendly interferer predict and concentrate on the targets selected by the eavesdropper. Under certain conditions, we prove that there exists a unique Nash equilibrium (NE) strategy pair, which has a threshold type structure. We provide conditions under which the eavesdropper's equilibrium strategy is deterministic. We devise a strategy iteration algorithm to compute an equilibrium power allocation strategy. We present examples showing that the game-theoretic power allocation strategy performs better than the conservative power allocation strategy that assumes every channel to be under attack.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the allocation of jamming power by a friendly interferer to eavesdropping channels in order to enhance the secrecy level of a wireless network. The optimal power allocation policy is obtained by solving a convex optimization problem when all channels used for secret communication are threatened by eavesdropping attacks. A non-zero-sum game is proposed to help the friendly interferer predict and focus on the targets selected by the eavesdropper. The paper provides conditions under which the eavesdropper's equilibrium strategy is deterministic and presents an algorithm for computing an equilibrium power allocation strategy.