One-hot Coding-based URA with RFFI-Enabled Message Authentication

TL;DR

This paper introduces a one-hot coding-based URA framework that integrates radio-frequency fingerprint identification for message authentication, enhancing security in IoT networks without extra payload.

Contribution

It proposes a novel OHC-based URA scheme that authenticates messages via device-specific RF fingerprints, preserving the unsourced principle and ensuring security.

Findings

Enables secure URA transmission with reliable performance.

Derives analytical expressions for error and spoofing probabilities.

Numerical results confirm effectiveness in ultra-short-payload IoT scenarios.

Abstract

Unsourced random access (URA) has emerged as a promising paradigm for enabling massive connectivity in Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks. However, since URA transmissions do not contain device identifiers, the receiver may not associate decoded messages with their originating devices, introducing a security vulnerability: forged messages may be decoded as legitimate. To address this problem, this paper proposes a one-hot coding (OHC)-based URA framework that enables message authentication while preserving the unsourced transmission principle. Specifically, distinct messages are mapped onto orthogonal channel uses via an OHC-based common codebook and transmitted using on-off keying modulation. The resulting orthogonal channel structure enables radio-frequency fingerprint identification to authenticate received signals by exploiting device-specific hardware impairments, thereby authenticating decoded messages without introducing an additional authentication payload. Analytical expressions for the per-user probability of error and the probability of successful spoofing are derived. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme enables secure URA transmission while maintaining reliable communication performance in ultra-short-payload IoT scenarios.