Physical layer security schemes for MIMO systems: an overview

Physical layer security (PLS) has become an increasingly attractive topic since it promises current and future wireless systems both reliable and secure communication, without imposing any assumptions on the computational power of the eavesdroppers. PLS benefits from the randomness property of the wireless channel, which provides better immunity and prevents different attacks. On the other hand, the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system has emerged as a key technology to support high data rates and improved energy and spectral efficiency, in addition to overcoming the effect of shadowing and fading. Recently, MIMO-based PLS has been addressed in the literature due to its wide adoption and its essential role in wireless communication systems. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of various MIMO-based PLS techniques that target all kinds of security services namely, key generation and distribution, data confidentiality, authentication, and availability. With this overview, readers will have a better understanding of the MIMO-based PLS techniques present in the literature, their current limitations, and challenges.