Secure Ranging with IEEE 802.15.4z HRP UWB

Abstract: Secure ranging refers to the capability of upper-bounding the actual physical distance between two devices with reliability. This is essential in a variety of applications, including to unlock physical systems. In this work, we will look at secure ranging in the context of ultra-wideband impulse radio (UWB-IR) as specified in IEEE 802.15.4z (a.k.a. 4z). In particular, an encrypted waveform, i.e. the scrambled timestamp sequence (STS), is defined in the high rate pulse repetition frequency (HRP) mode of operation in 4z for secure ranging. This work demonstrates the security analysis of 4z HRP when implemented with an adequate receiver design and shows the STS waveform can enable secure ranging. We first review the STS receivers adopted in previous studies and analyze their security vulnerabilities. Then we present a reference STS receiver and prove that secure ranging can be achieved by employing the STS waveform in 4z HRP. The performance bounds of the reference secure STS receiver are also characterized. Numerical experiments corroborate the analyses and demonstrate the security of the reference STS receiver.