ML-Enabled Eavesdropper Detection in Beyond 5G IIoT Networks

Advanced fifth generation (5G) and beyond (B5G) communication networks have revolutionized wireless technologies, supporting ultra-high data rates, low latency, and massive connectivity. However, they also introduce vulnerabilities, particularly in decentralized Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments. Traditional cryptographic methods struggle with scalability and complexity, leading researchers to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven physical layer techniques for secure communications. In this context, this paper focuses on the utilization of Machine and Deep Learning (ML/DL) techniques to tackle with the common problem of eavesdropping detection. To this end, a simulated industrial B5G heterogeneous wireless network is used to evaluate the performance of various ML/DL models, including Random Forests (RF), Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNN), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. These models classify users as either legitimate or malicious ones based on channel state information (CSI), position data, and transmission power. According to the presented numerical results, DCNN and RF models achieve a detection accuracy approaching 100\% in identifying eavesdroppers with zero false alarms. In general, this work underlines the great potential of combining AI and Physical Layer Security (PLS) for next-generation wireless networks in order to address evolving security threats.

A Survey on UAV-Aided Maritime Communications: Deployment Considerations, Applications, and Future Challenges

Maritime activities represent a major domain of economic growth with several emerging maritime Internet of Things use cases, such as smart ports, autonomous navigation, and ocean monitoring systems. The major enabler for this exciting ecosystem is the provision of broadband, low-delay, and reliable wireless coverage to the ever-increasing number of vessels, buoys, platforms, sensors, and actuators. Towards this end, the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in maritime communications introduces an aerial dimension to wireless connectivity going above and beyond current deployments, which are mainly relying on shore-based base stations with limited coverage and satellite links with high latency. Considering the potential of UAV-aided wireless communications, this survey presents the state-of-the-art in UAV-aided maritime communications, which, in general, are based on both conventional optimization and machine-learning-aided approaches. More specifically, relevant UAV-based network architectures are discussed together with the role of their building blocks. Then, physical-layer, resource management, and cloud/edge computing and caching UAV-aided solutions in maritime environments are discussed and grouped based on their performance targets. Moreover, as UAVs are characterized by flexible deployment with high re-positioning capabilities, studies on UAV trajectory optimization for maritime applications are thoroughly discussed. In addition, aiming at shedding light on the current status of real-world deployments, experimental studies on UAV-aided maritime communications are presented and implementation details are given. Finally, several important open issues in the area of UAV-aided maritime communications are given, related to the integration of sixth generation (6G) advancements.