Secure-ISAC: Secure V2X Communication: An Integrated Sensing and Communication Perspective

Abstract

In Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) systems, reliable and secure information exchange plays a pivotal role in road safety and traffic management. Due to the open nature of the wireless medium and the constant or intermittent mobility of vehicles, the security of transmissions in V2X is more challenging compared to traditional wireless networks. Physical layer security (PLS) leverages the inherent randomness of wireless communication channels to ensure the confidentiality and security of information transmission. Current PLS schemes in integrated communications and sensing (ISAC) enabled V2X systems is to utilize communication interference to significantly impact the eavesdropping channel more than the legitimate channel. However, in an ISAC-enabled V2X system, it is crucial to prioritize and address the issue of interference coupling as it significantly impacts the confidentiality and security of information exchange. This goes beyond simply relying on the communication interference. Until now, no discussions or studies on integrating security with ISAC (Seucue-ISAC) in ISAC-enabled V2X systems, specifically regarding the exploitation of sensing interference or coupling interference. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review on PLS metrics and security threats encountered in V2X communication. And then, we discuss and analyze four popular PLS techniques and the main challenges associated with their implementation in ISAC-enabled V2X systems. Finally, we share our vision for PLS studies in ISAC-based V2X systems to promote Secure-ISAC.