Recently, US researchers published a paper in the journal *Nature Electronics*, announcing the development of a new millimeter-wave wireless microchip. This chip enables a secure wireless transmission method that can prevent interception, without reducing the efficiency and speed of 5G networks. This technology could thwart eavesdroppers on 5G wireless transmissions.
It is understood that existing communication encryption methods may be difficult to extend to high-speed and ultra-low latency systems such as 5G. This is because the very nature of encryption requires the exchange of information between the sender and receiver to encrypt and decrypt messages. This exchange makes the link vulnerable to attacks, and it also requires computation to increase latency.
To bridge this security gap, Princeton University researchers have developed a method that incorporates security into the physical properties of signals. Instead of relying on encryption, this method thwarts an eavesdropper's attempts by making the signal from their location appear as noise.
Researchers say that, in principle, this is the secret weapon behind secure transmission—achieved through precise spatial and temporal modulation of these high-frequency electromagnetic fields. If an eavesdropper attempts to intercept a message by interfering with the main transmission, it will cause problems in the transmission and be detected by the intended user. While it is theoretically possible for multiple eavesdroppers to work together to collect similar noisy signals and attempt to reassemble them into a coherent transmission, the number of receivers required to do so would be "extremely large."
Rice University professor Edward Knightley said the work is the first experimental demonstration of how to use machine learning data collected from multiple simultaneous observation points to defeat a complex adversary, and is "a major milestone" in ensuring future cybersecurity.
