Inter-Body Coupling in Electro-Quasistatic Human Body Communication: Theory and Analysis of Security and Interference Properties

Abstract: Radiative communication using electromagnetic fields is the backbone of today's wirelessly connected world, which implies that the physical signals are available for malicious interceptors to snoop within a 5-10 m distance, also increasing interference and reducing channel capacity. Recently, Electro-quasistatic (EQS) human body communication was demonstrated which utilizes the human body's conductive properties to communicate without radiating the signals outside the body. Previous experiments showed that an attack with an antenna is unsuccessful, more than 1 cm of the body surface and 15 cm of an EQS-HBC device. However, since this is a new communication modality, it calls for investigation of new attack modalities - that can potentially exploit the physics utilized in the EQS-HBC to break the system. In this study, we present a novel attack method for EQS-HBC devices, using the body of the attacker itself as a coupling surface and capacitive inter-body coupling between the user and the attacker. We develop theoretical understanding backed by experimental results for inter-body coupling, as a function of distance between the subjects. We utilize this newly developed understanding to design EQS-HBC transmitters to minimize the attack distance through inter-body coupling as well as minimize the interference among multiple EQS-HBC users due to inter-body coupling. This understanding allows us to develop more secure and robust EQS-HBC based body area networks in the future.