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This book is the result of more than five years of intensive research in collaboration with a
large number of people. Since the beginning, our goal has been to understand at a deeper
level how information-theoretic security ideas can help build more secure networks and
communication systems. Back in 2008, the actual planwas to finish the manuscript within
one year, which for some reason seemed a fairly reasonable proposition at that time.
Needless to say, we were thoroughly mistaken. The pace at which physical-layer security
topics have found their way into the main journals and conferences in communications
and information theory is simply staggering. In fact, there is now a vibrant scientific
community uncovering the benefits of looking at the physical layer from a security point
of view and producing new results every day. Writing a book on physical-layer security
thus felt like shooting at not one but multiple moving targets.
To preserve our sanity we decided to go back to basics and focus on how to bridge the
gap between theory and practice. It did not take long to realize that the book would have
to appeal simultaneously to information theorists, cryptographers, and network-security
specialists. More precisely, the material could and should provide a common ground for
fruitful interactions between those who speak the language of security and those who for
a very long time focused mostly on the challenges of communicating over noisy channels.
Therefore, we opted for a mathematical treatment that addresses the fundamental aspects
of information-theoretic security, while providing enough background on cryptographic
protocols to allow an eclectic and synergistic approach to the design of security systems.
The book is intended for several different groups: (a) communication engineers and
security specialists who wish to understand the fundamentals of physical-layer security
and apply them in the development of real-life systems, (b) scientists who aim at creating
new knowledge in information-theoretic security and applications, (c) graduate students
who wish to be trained in the fundamental techniques, and (d) decision makers who seek
to evaluate the potential benefits of physical-layer security. If this book leads to many
exciting discussions at the white board among diverse groups of people, then our goal
will have been achieved. |