Authenticating MIMO Transmissions Using Channel-Like Fingerprinting

A framework for introducing an extrinsic fingerprint signal to space-time coded transmissions at the physical-layer is presented, whereby the fingerprint signal conveys a low capacity digital communication suitable for authenticating the transmission and further facilitating secure communications. A novel approach is discussed where the fingerprint signal mimics distortions similar to time-varying channel effects. Specifically, the fingerprint signal is only visible to aware receivers considering previous channel state information (CSI) and is otherwise invisible to a receiver equalizing according to current CSI. An augmented signal is created consisting of the original transmission, or primary message, and the fingerprint message. An example fingerprint signal and detection rule are presented based on a phase-shift keying approach. Simulation results including bit error rate (BER) are presented for both the primary and fingerprint signals using the 2×2 Alamouti code, and authentication signal BERs lower than the primary signal are demonstrated.