This paper proposes a joint secure sensing and communication framework for full-link covert transmissions, which integrates an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system and compliant distributed cooperative jammers to enhance the communication quality of legitimate users while promoting the efficient utilization of limited resources. In the proposed scheme, upon sensing potential eavesdropper embodied by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the dual-functional base station (BS) covertly transmits the acquired UAV state information to friendly jammers within relevant coverage area and issues activation commands promptly. Simultaneously, with IRS assistance, reconfigurable parameters such as signal phase in NOMA transmissions are adjusted to satisfy public user’s service requirements while facilitating covert communications for legitimate user. To ensure dynamic adaptability and link sustainability, the BS leverages historical sensing data to predict the UAV’s flight trajectory in real time and infer its movement intent. If the UAV exhibits a tendency to deviate from the currently effective jamming zone, the BS proactively activates friendly jammers in adjacent regions to maintain covert transmission rates and ensure robust system operation. To address the non-convex optimization challenge arising from jointly optimizing sensing beamforming, communication beamforming, and the IRS reflection matrix with highly coupled variables, we disassemble the problem into three subproblems. Correspondingly, an alternating optimization framework is designed by employing the semidefinite relaxation (SDR), Gaussian randomization, penalty-based methods, and Dinkelbach transformation to jointly maximize covert transmission rates while guaranteeing both sensing accuracy and communication quality of service (QoS). Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves superior covert transmission rates compared with benchmark schemes. Moreover, the dual-covertness mechanisms for sensing and communication further enhance the system security, validating the framework’s robustness in dynamic resource-constrained environments.

Security and reliability have always evolved alongside advancements in communication technologies. Facing imminent the sixth generation of mobile communication (6G) era, this work explores a jamming exploitation-enabled covert transmission framework for satellite-aerial-terrestrial integrated networks (SATINs), aiming to meet user privacy requirements in future complex adversarial scenarios characterized by stereoscopic coverage and multi-domain collaboration. The research scenario involves a three-dimensional space comprising four core elements: a satellite, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with an active simultaneously transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surface (active STAR-RIS), an eavesdropper possessing dual functionalities of jamming and detection, and a ground terminal. Upon sensing malicious jamming from the eavesdropper, the UAV aerial platform serving as a relay node utilizes its on-board active STAR-RIS to achieve the targeted reflection and manipulation of the malicious jamming signals while concurrently facilitating the effective forwarding of the legitimate signals. Namely, breaking through the conventional mindset of “jamming suppression”, it equivalently constructs a “self-interference loop” centered on the eavesdropper, thereby degrading the adversary’s detection sensitivity. For this process, we construct a covert analysis framework featuring the joint design of the static/dynamic scenarios and the active STAR-RIS reflection-transmission matrices dominated by the UAV’s limited power, derive the analytical expression of the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence, and establish rigorous covertness constraints for the system. To address the highly coupled non-convex problem in the joint optimization,we propose a solution combining semidefinite relaxation (SDR), Dinkelbach transformation, Gaussian randomization, and the proximal policy optimization (PPO) framework, maximizing the system covert transmission rate while satisfying various constraints. Numerical results demonstrate that, compared with benchmark schemes, the proposed scheme exhibits superior flexibility and covert transmission advantages in adversarial environments.

Privacy security constitutes a critical challenge in low-altitude wireless communications. Motivated by the application requirements for stereoscopic coverage and multi-domain collaboration, this paper investigates a friendly jamming-assisted air-ground cooperative covert transmission scheme. In the considered system, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) serves as a network hub. It relays confidential signals from an aerial hovering platform to ground users while cooperating with terrestrial jammer to realize environment-independent directional jamming. Benefiting from the UAV's relaying functionality, this architecture can significantly enhance the flexibility of the jamming mechanism and the security of the jamming node. With the objective of maximizing the UAV's energy efficiency associated with effective throughput, we formulate a joint optimization problem under strict covertness constraints. To solve this problem, we propose an algorithm that integrates semidefinite relaxation (SDR), the Dinkelbach method, and Gaussian randomization within a double deep Q-network (DDQN) framework. The UAV trajectory, onboard resource, user scheduling and RIS parameters are jointly optimized to simultaneously ensure the communication covertness and transmission performance. Numerical simulation results validate the superiority of the proposed scheme compared to benchmark solutions.

This work investigates the problem of finite blocklength covert communications with relay assistance in Internet of Things (IoT) to extend the communications range. We reconstruct the framework for analyzing covert communications under decoded and forwarded protocols based on Willie’s optimal detection method. The analytic expression of Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence is derived, the upper bound of KL divergence is solved by using the convexity of KL divergence, and the strict covertness constraint of the system is obtained. Meanwhile, to maximize the effective throughput, a covert communication parameter configuration scheme is proposed. Theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the compromised relationship of transmit power between Alice and relay nodes, and a reasonable power allocation scheme can enhance the effective throughput of the system.