# Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity: A Review and a Case Study
## 6 Enhancing Security in Low-Rate Wireless Networks
### Optimizing IEEE 802.15.4 Encryption Using Genetic Algorithms
Unbreakable Code: Unlike traditional methods with predictable generation mechanisms, the GA-derived sequence has no known production method. This obscurity acts as an extra layer of encryption, making it incredibly difficult to crack. Hardware Shield: This newfound sequence can be embedded directly into the chip powering wireless communication. This hardware-based approach eliminates the need for software security, potentially leading to a more reliable and tamper-proof solution. Our research paves the way for using GAs to generate secure PN sequences within these networks. This approach prioritizes exceptional security without significantly impacting performance. The hardware implementation offers a promising path towards a highly secure system against potential threats. This method leverages unique sequences, generated through the GA, to function as digital identifiers. These unique sequences are assigned to short data units (4 bits) as shown in Table 4. A separate table maps each of these symbols (4 bits) to a specific code sequence consisting of 32 chips. This two-step process allows the receiver to decode the original data even when it is disrupted by interference. Additionally, it provides a layer of encryption by using the inherent secrecy of the GA-generated sequences, enhancing overall security. To ensure seamless integration with existing protocols, we maintain the established symbol-to-sequence association used in the standard IEEE physical layer. Our method simply modifies the sequence values within the set, guaranteeing compatibility with current infrastructure while introducing an encryption benefit. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Index** & **Symbol** & **Sequence (32,4)** \\ \hline
1 & 0000 & 1010001001110100101101101100 \\
2 & 1000 & 100100010100011111011011000011 \\
3 & 0100 & 1011001100101100100101010101 \\
4 & 1100 & 01101100100101101110110101010000 \\
5 & 0010 & 110110111010100000100100100111 \\
6 & 1010 & 000110110101010101010101001001001 \\
7 & 0110 & 010010010110011110001001001111010 \\
8 & 1110 & 100110111110010001001000100101 \\
9 & 0001 & 0111010001100111001100101010100 \\
10 & 1001 & 1110011101000000001100111110 \\
11 & 0101 & 010011011000111000001100101111 \\
12 & 1101 & 000001001111101010100100100111 \\
13 & 0011 & 1001011001100011000001111101011 \\
14 & 1011 & 011011000011000011110110011001001 \\
15 & 0111 & 000111001010110110101000001111 \\
16 & 1111 & 0001001111001101010101011100 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Proposed PN sequences of 4-bit symbols found by GA.  
Table 5 compares the performance of the proposed PN sequence set to the IEEE 802.15.4 payload sequence in terms of PN characteristics. For each objective function output, smaller values are desirable. As shown in the table, the proposed sequence set achieves performance close to that of the IEEE 802.15.4 payload sequence. To evaluate communication throughput under realistic noise conditions, we employed a simulation platform with chip error rates (\(\rho\)) ranging from 0% to 3%, representing a low-noise environment like an office. We adhered to the default IEEE 802.15.4 protocol parameters as specified in [36] and eliminated collisions to isolate the impact of error-causing factors. Figure 5 compares the performance of our proposed secure GA sequence (blue) to the generic IEEE 802.15.4 sequence (red). As evident from the figure, both sequences exhibit similar performance across various (\(\rho\)) values. Chip error rates in typical office environments are estimated to fall within the range of \(10^{-3}\) to \(10^{-6}\)[37], suggesting that our chosen error rate range [0-3%] offers a comprehensive evaluation. Notably, the figure indicates that the proposed secure GA sequence is a viable solution for low-rate wireless personal area networks in office or home settings. It achieves anonymous, encrypted physical-layer security while maintaining throughput comparable to the existing IEEE 802.15.4 PN sequence scheme.