Technology Independent Targeted Interference Detection for Wireless IoT

The expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, particularly in critical systems, demands developing effective measures against targeted radio interference attacks. To remove such threats it is essential to identify attacks and to distinguish them from natural occurring interference. Furthermore, it is desirable to develop a communication technology-independent detection method as IoT deployments such as smart cities or factories are usually heterogeneous. This research introduces a technology-independent method for detecting targeted interference in IoT deployments capable of operating on resource-constrained IoT devices. Packet loss rates and packet loss patterns independent of the specific physical layer technology are analysed to determine if a targeted attack is present. The proposed approach is validated through comprehensive evaluations of two example technologies, Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and IEEE 802.15.4 Guarantee Time Slot (GTS), demonstrating its effectiveness in detecting attacks. Our evaluation shows that the detector can distinguish between targeted interference attacks and the impact of naturally occurring interference.