A Primary User Authentication Scheme for Secure Cognitive TV Spectrum Sharing

Cognitive radio is being intensively investigated by regulatory bodies as the enabling technology for opportunistic access to the TV white spaces. The successful deployment of cognitive radio networks and the realization of their benefits depend on the assignment of essential security challenges to resist misuse of the systems. In this paper, we propose a primary user authentication scheme in the presence of attackers. Our system is based on the deployment of multiple stages of “helper” nodes, helper nodes in the first stage are fixed and close to primary user, while helper nodes in the next stages are placed within the primary user’s coverage area. Helper nodes are responsible for sensing the spectrum based on the received signal power detection scheme, and broadcasting the spectrum information to secondary users. Compared to prior work, our system can provide a stricter requirement for probability of false alarm and probability of missing.