Secure performance analysis and detection of pilot attack in massive multiple-input multiple-output system

This article studies the physical layer security of massive multiple-input multiple-output system in time-division-duplex mode. Specifically, a single-cell downlink massive multiple-input multiple-output communication system is considered. The resulting achievable secrecy rate is investigated in the presence of passive or active eavesdroppers. The analytical results reveal that the massive multiple-input multiple-output system is naturally immune to passive eavesdroppers, but will be dramatically degraded by active attack. On account of the risk caused by active attack, a simple and effective detection algorithm is proposed. Uplink pilots with random phases are transmitted during the detection operation. By comparing the phase deviation change of the received pilot signals’ cross product, the active eavesdroppers can be detected exactly. The closed-form expressions for probabilities of detection, false alarm, and false rejection are obtained respectively, which can demonstrate the robust performance of the proposed detection scheme. To maximize the secrecy energy efficiency of the system, the optimal power allocation strategy is studied under total power constraints. This optimization problem is efficiently solved by fractional programming. Numerical simulation results are derived to validate the secrecy performance of the massive multiple-input multiple-output system, the active pilot attacker detection performance, and the energy efficiency optimization effect.