There has been a growing trend toward leveraging machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques to optimize and enhance the performance of wireless communication systems. However, limited attention has been given to the vulnerabilities of these techniques, particularly in the presence of adversarial attacks. This paper investigates the adversarial attack and defense in distributed multiple reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs)-aided multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems-based autoencoder in finite scattering environments. We present the channel propagation model for distributed multiple RIS, including statistical information driven in closed form for the aggregated channel. The symbol error rate (SER) is selected to evaluate the collaborative dynamics between the distributed RISs and MIMO communication in depth. The relationship between the number of RISs and the SER of the proposed system based on an autoencoder, as well as the impact of adversarial attacks on the system’s SER, is analyzed in detail. We also propose a defense mechanism based on adversarial training against the considered attacks to enhance the model’s robustness. Numerical results indicate that increasing the number of RISs effectively reduces the system’s SER but leads to the adversarial attack-based algorithm becoming more destructive in the white-box attack scenario. The proposed defense method demonstrates strong effectiveness by significantly mitigating the attack’s impact. It also substantially reduces the system’s SER in the absence of an attack compared to the original model. Moreover, we extend the phenomenon to include decoder mobility, demonstrating that the proposed method maintains robustness under Doppler-induced channel variations.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and massive IoT systems are key to sixth-generation (6G) networks due to dense connectivity, ultra-reliability, low latency, and high throughput. Artificial intelligence, including deep learning and machine learning, offers solutions for optimizing and deploying cutting-edge technologies for future radio communications. However, these techniques are vulnerable to adversarial attacks, leading to degraded performance and erroneous predictions, outcomes unacceptable for ubiquitous networks. This survey extensively addresses adversarial attacks and defense methods in 6G network-assisted IoT systems. The theoretical background and up-to-date research on adversarial attacks and defenses are discussed. Furthermore, we provide Monte Carlo simulations to validate the effectiveness of adversarial attacks compared to jamming attacks. Additionally, we examine the vulnerability of 6G IoT systems by demonstrating attack strategies applicable to key technologies, including reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)/cell-free massive MIMO, satellites, the metaverse, and semantic communications. Finally, we outline the challenges and future developments associated with adversarial attacks and defenses in 6G IoT systems.