Enhancing Physical-Layer Security in LEO Satellite-Enabled IoT Network Communications

The extensive deployment of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites introduces significant security challenges for communication security issues in Internet of Things (IoT) networks. With the rising number of satellites potentially acting as eavesdroppers, integrating physical-layer security (PLS) into satellite communications has become increasingly critical. However, these studies are facing challenges, such as dealing with dynamic topology difficulties, limitations in interference analysis, and the high complexity of performance evaluation. To address these challenges, for the first time, we investigate the PLS strategies in satellite communications using the stochastic geometry (SG) analytical framework. We consider the uplink communication scenario in an LEO-enabled IoT network, where the multitier satellites from different operators, respectively, serve as the legitimate receivers and eavesdroppers. In this scenario, we derive low-complexity analytical expressions for the security performance metrics, namely availability probability, successful communication probability, and secure communication probability. By introducing the power allocation parameters, we incorporate the artificial noise (AN) technique, which is an important PLS strategy, into this the analytical framework, and evaluate the gains it brings to secure transmission. In addition to the AN technique, we also analyse the impact of constellation configuration, physical-layer parameters, and network layer parameters on the aforementioned metrics.