Location Privacy-Preserving Scheme in IoBT Networks Using Deception-Based Techniques

Area of Science:

• Cyber Security
• Network Engineering
• Military Technology

Background:

• Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) networks face unique challenges including infrastructure limitations, diverse equipment, and adversarial attacks.
• Real-time location data exchange is critical for IoBT effectiveness but exposes soldiers and equipment to enemy tracking.
• Existing methods lack robust protection against sophisticated tracking in hostile environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel location privacy-preserving scheme tailored for IoBT networks.
• To enhance the anonymity and security of location information shared within IoBT systems.
• To mitigate the risk of enemy adversaries tracking soldiers and equipment.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a deception-based privacy scheme incorporating Dummy Identifiers (DID), sensitive area concepts, and silence periods.
• Introduction of a security layer that generates pseudonym locations for message transmission.
• Evaluation using Matlab simulations to measure average anonymity and linkability probability.

Main Results:

• The proposed scheme significantly improves the anonymity of source nodes within IoBT networks.
• It effectively reduces an adversary's ability to link a source node's past and present Dummy Identifiers (DID).
• The integration of sensitive area concepts provides further, critical privacy enhancements for IoBT operations.

Conclusions:

• The developed location privacy-preserving scheme offers a robust solution for IoBT networks.
• Deception-based techniques, pseudonym locations, and sensitive area awareness are vital for securing battlefield communications.
• The findings demonstrate a substantial improvement in protecting sensitive location data in IoBT environments.