Improving digital connectivity across rural areas, and making those connections more secure, is the goal of a new study led by a Keele University researcher. 

Dr Aisha Junejo, a lecturer in Cyber Security from Keele’s School of Computer Science and Mathematics, is leading a new project to leverage 6G technologies to improve connections for rural areas, as well as making them less susceptible to cyber-attacks. 

The 6G-FINESSE project seeks to improve the reliability and speed of rural internet connections, using next generation technologies like reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and non-terrestrial transmissions (NTN), which use infrastructure situated high above the ground such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. 

RIS technologies use small, individually controlled components to manipulate and modify signals according to need, meaning they can be altered in different ways to enhance signal strength or coverage as required. 

But currently, these RIS-aided non-terrestrial–based 6G networks (RISANT-6G) are vulnerable to multiple security threats, due to the different wireless communication links needed between the sender and receiver of data on the ground, in the air, and in space.  

The researchers’ focus in the 6G-FINESSE project is to address these security issues, particularly weak authentication, trustworthiness issues, and the risk of “eavesdropping” arising from cyber attackers joining the network to intercept data being transmitted.  

The researchers aim to design a lightweight encryption and authentication scheme to guarantee end-to-end security for Space-Air-Ground integrated networks, meaning the improved coverage of a 6G network would be more resilient against the threat of cyber-attacks. 

Lead author Dr Aisha Junejo from Keele University said: “Satellites are generally considered secure because they are unreachable, but Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites have changed this paradigm. Now, anyone can buy a LEO satellite and send it into space.  

“The security of LEO satellites is not well studied. In the 6G-FINESSE project, we are not just exploring the potential use of LEO satellites for improving internet connectivity in rural environments but also ensuring they are protected from hackers and malicious attackers by developing PLS based security solutions.”