Common randomness improves security and reliability in 6G systems
Common Randomness: A Key Enabler of Trustworthy 6G Communication Systems
Information Theory
Summary
6G networks will need to be more trustworthy, secure, and scalable than current systems. The authors explain how a shared random signal, called common randomness, can help different parts of a 6G network work together safely and reliably. They review how this shared randomness can be created and used in different communication setups, and show its role in secure identification. They also point out open questions that need answers before these ideas can be fully used in real 6G systems.
What this means in practice
- •For wireless network engineers: Design scalable 6G architectures that use shared randomness to improve security against eavesdropping and interference.
- •For cybersecurity teams for telecom operators: Develop secure device identification methods in 6G networks that rely on common randomness generated from channel characteristics.
A survey. It maps existing work.
Authors
Rami Ezzine, Moritz Wiese, Wafa Labidi, Christian Deppe, Holger Boche
Abstract
Common randomness (CR) is a valuable resource for enhancing the trustworthiness of 6G communication systems. This article highlights the role of CR in improving scalability, security, and resilience in distributed 6G architectures. It provides an overview of information-theoretic two-source models for CR generation and summarizes known capacity results, together with their implications for practical systems under different communication settings, including one-way, two-way, helper-assisted, and interactive scenarios. Furthermore, the article explores CR-assisted secure identification over Gaussian channels as an application and highlights selected open research problems in CR generation for next-generation wireless systems. The article targets researchers and practitioners interested in bridging information-theoretic tools with emerging 6G communication systems.