{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T16:20:26Z","timestamp":1764865226399,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764806400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Computers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This article addresses a critical security challenge in Internet of Things (IoT) systems, which are vulnerable to traffic detection attacks due to their reliance on shared wireless communication channels. We propose a novel cooperative covert transmission strategy to enhance the security of IoT communications against these attacks through the implementation of physical-layer security mechanisms. Inspired by zero-forcing precoding techniques, the proposed approach enables cooperation between different IoT devices in the system to increase the likelihood of adversaries making incorrect conclusions about the communication activity of the targeted IoT device. The proposed covert communication strategy complements traditional security measures, provides a scalable solution, and is suitable for resource-constrained IoT environments. The numerical results in this article demonstrate significant improvements in protecting communications against traffic detection attacks, which contributes to the overall security and privacy of IoT systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/computers14120533","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T16:07:38Z","timestamp":1764864458000},"page":"533","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Towards a Framework for Covert Communications for Mitigating Traffic Detection Attacks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0068-6773","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdallah","family":"Farraj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M\u2013RELLIS, Bryan, TX 77807, USA"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Larrivaud, L. (2019). State of Enterprise IoT Security in North America: Unmanaged and Unsecured, Armis Inc.. A Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Paper Commissioned by Armis Inc."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comnet.2018.11.025","article-title":"Current research on Internet of Things (IoT) security: A survey","volume":"148","author":"Hassan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Comput. Netw."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1109\/MITP.2018.2876988","article-title":"Traffic analysis attack for identifying users\u2019 online activities","volume":"21","author":"Kausar","year":"2019","journal-title":"IT Prof."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1186\/1687-1499-2014-131","article-title":"Anti-traffic analysis attack for location privacy in WSNs","volume":"2014","author":"Makrakis","year":"2014","journal-title":"EURASIP J. Wirel. Commun. Netw."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29731","DOI":"10.1007\/s11042-018-6217-9","article-title":"A traffic analysis attack to compute social network measures","volume":"78","author":"Trujillo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Multimed. Tools Appl."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1747","DOI":"10.1109\/TIFS.2016.2551203","article-title":"A web traffic analysis attack using only timing information","volume":"11","author":"Feghhi","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Secur."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farraj, A., and Hammad, E. (2024). A Physical-Layer Security Cooperative Framework for Mitigating Interference and Eavesdropping Attacks in Internet of Things Environments. Sensors, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/s24165171"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farraj, A., and Hammad, E. (2025). Noise-Based Active Defense Strategy for Mitigating Eavesdropping Threats in Internet of Things Environments. Computers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/computers14010006"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2180","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2008.060848","article-title":"Guaranteeing secrecy using artificial noise","volume":"7","author":"Goel","year":"2008","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Son, H. (2024). Performance Analysis of Artificial-Noise-Based Secure Transmission in Wiretap Channel. Mathematics, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/math13010032"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yildirim, H.C., Keskin, M.F., Wymeersch, H., and Horlin, F. (2024, January 6\u201310). Deceptive Jamming in WLAN Sensing. Proceedings of the IEEE Radar Conference (RadarConf24), Denver, CO, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/RadarConf2458775.2024.10549000"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2019.2943900","article-title":"Physical-layer security in space information networks: A survey","volume":"7","author":"Li","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Soni, A., Upadhyay, R., and Jain, A. (November, January 30). Internet of Things and wireless physical layer security: A survey. Proceedings of the Computer Communication, Networking and Internet Security, Dallas, TX, USA."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Rojas, P., Alahmadi, S., and Bayoumi, M. (July, January 14). Physical layer security for IoT communications\u2014A survey. Proceedings of the 7th World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), New Orleans, LA, USA."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1747","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2015.2466548","article-title":"Physical-Layer Security in the Internet of Things: Sensing and Communication Confidentiality Under Resource Constraints","volume":"103","author":"Mukherjee","year":"2015","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Kim, M.S., Kong, H.J., Hong, S.C., Chung, S.H., and Hong, J.W. (2004, January 23). A flow-based method for abnormal network traffic detection. Proceedings of the IEEE\/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium, Seoul, Republic of Korea."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103001","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cose.2022.103001","article-title":"Toward practical defense against traffic analysis attacks on encrypted DNS traffic","volume":"124","author":"Niakanlahiji","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comput. Secur."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Purwanto, Y., and Rahardjo, B. (2014, January 23\u201324). Traffic anomaly detection in DDos flooding attack. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Telecommunication Systems Services and Applications (TSSA), Kuta, Indonesia.","DOI":"10.1109\/TSSA.2014.7065953"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1173","DOI":"10.1109\/COMST.2023.3263921","article-title":"Covert communications: A comprehensive survey","volume":"25","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eng.2024.12.007","article-title":"Intelligent Covert Communication: Recent Advances and Future Research Trends","volume":"44","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Engineering"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2024.3364256","article-title":"Physical layer covert communication in B5G wireless networks\u2014Its research, applications, and challenges","volume":"112","author":"Jiang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.2015.7355562","article-title":"Hiding information in noise: Fundamental limits of covert wireless communication","volume":"53","author":"Bash","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1109\/MWC.2017.1800070","article-title":"Covert Wireless Communications in IoT Systems: Hiding Information in Interference","volume":"25","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6005","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2018.2854540","article-title":"Covert wireless communication with a Poisson field of interferers","volume":"17","author":"He","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8517","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2018.2878014","article-title":"Achieving covert wireless communications using a full-duplex receiver","volume":"17","author":"Shahzad","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7252","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2018.2865946","article-title":"Covert wireless communication with artificial noise generation","volume":"17","author":"Soltani","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"760","DOI":"10.1109\/TIFS.2022.3152353","article-title":"Achieving covert wireless communication with a multi-antenna relay","volume":"17","author":"Lv","year":"2022","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Inf. Forensics Secur."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4778","DOI":"10.1109\/TCOMM.2023.3277520","article-title":"A Cooperative Deception Strategy for Covert Communication in Presence of a Multi-Antenna Adversary","volume":"71","author":"Si","year":"2023","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Commun."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3233","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2023.3296368","article-title":"Achieving covertness and secrecy: The interplay between detection and eavesdropping attacks","volume":"11","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1109\/MNET.2024.3379864","article-title":"Covert communications meet 6G NTN: A comprehensive enabler for safety-critical IoT","volume":"38","author":"An","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Netw."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farraj, A. (2023, January 13\u201314). Coordinated Security Measures for Industrial IoT Against Eavesdropping. Proceedings of the IEEE Texas Power and Energy Conference (TPEC), College Station, TX, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/TPEC56611.2023.10078577"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farraj, A. (2023, January 13\u201314). Cooperative Transmission Strategy for Industrial IoT Against Interference Attacks. Proceedings of the IEEE Texas Power and Energy Conference (TPEC), College Station, TX, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/TPEC56611.2023.10078488"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ryu, D., Lee, S., Yang, S., Jeong, J., Lee, Y., and Shin, D. (2024). Enhancing Cybersecurity in Energy IT Infrastructure Through a Layered Defense Approach to Major Malware Threats. Appl. Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/app142210342"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1618130114","article-title":"Wireless physical layer security","volume":"114","author":"Poor","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4409","DOI":"10.1109\/TSP.2008.924638","article-title":"Zero-forcing precoding and generalized inverses","volume":"56","author":"Wiesel","year":"2008","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Signal Process."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5699","DOI":"10.1109\/TCOMM.2025.3534475","article-title":"Covert communication of multi-antenna af relaying networks","volume":"73","author":"Jin","year":"2025","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Commun."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12878","DOI":"10.1109\/TMC.2024.3419071","article-title":"Covert communications aided by cooperative jamming in overlay cognitive radio networks","volume":"23","author":"Wen","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Mob. Comput."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22483","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2024.3381166","article-title":"Covert communications for STAR-RIS-assisted industrial networks with a full duplex receiver and RSMA","volume":"11","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5605","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2025.3548024","article-title":"Covert Communications with Enhanced Physical Layer Security in RIS-Assisted Cooperative Networks","volume":"24","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10726","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2024.3374775","article-title":"Sensing aided covert communications: Turning interference into allies","volume":"23","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."}],"container-title":["Computers"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-431X\/14\/12\/533\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T16:17:41Z","timestamp":1764865061000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-431X\/14\/12\/533"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]]},"references-count":40,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["computers14120533"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/computers14120533","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-431X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-431X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]]}}}