Spiking Neural Network: a low power solution for physical layer authentication

Deep learning (DL) is a powerful tool that can solve complex problems, and thus, it seems natural to assume that DL can be used to enhance the security of wireless communication. However, deploying DL models to edge devices in wireless networks is challenging, as they require significant amounts of computing and power resources. Notably, Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) are known to be efficient in terms of power consumption, meaning they can be an alternative platform for DL models for edge devices. In this study, we ask if SNNs can be used in physical layer authentication. Our evaluation suggests that SNNs can learn unique physical properties (i.e., `fingerprints') of RF transmitters and use them to identify individual devices. Furthermore, we find that SNNs are also vulnerable to adversarial attacks and that an autoencoder can be used clean out adversarial perturbations to harden SNNs against them.

@article{lee2025_2505.12647,
  title={ Spiking Neural Network: a low power solution for physical layer authentication },
  author={ Jung Hoon Lee and Sujith Vijayan },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.12647},
  year={ 2025 }
}