IRS-UAV Assisted Secure Integrated Sensing and Communication

Abstract

Thanks to its concurrent and dual functions, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has been considered as a promising technology for 6G networks. However, ISAC systems may suffer from security threats due to the broadcast nature of wireless channels. By combining the maneuverability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the propagation environment reconfiguration capability of intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), the security challenges of ISAC can be effectively addressed. In this article, we first outline the advantages that IRS-UAV may bring to the ISAC, and introduce several typical security techniques. Then, we propose two security schemes for IRS-UAV enabled ISAC to deal with the jamming and eavesdropping attacks, respectively. In the anti-jamming design, deploying IRS-UAV can provide a line-of-sight link for the blocked target and leverage the passive beamforming to fight against the malicious jammer. Furthermore, the aerial IRS can coordinate artificial noise to ensure the accuracy of target sensing while suppressing eavesdropping. Numerical results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes. Finally, future challenges in this direction are outlined.