# IoT Network Security from the Perspective of Adversarial Deep Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.00076 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.00076/

## Key facts

- Cited by 20 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 31 May 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 20 of 20)

- [Distilling Robust and Non-Robust Features in Adversarial Examples by Information Bottleneck](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.02735/) (2022)
- [Masking Adversarial Damage: Finding Adversarial Saliency for Robust and Sparse Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.02738/) (2022)
- [Demystifying Causal Features on Adversarial Examples and Causal Inoculation for Robust Network by Adversarial Instrumental Variable Regression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.01052/) (2023)
- [Adversarial Machine Learning for 5G Communications Security](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.02656/) (2021)
- [Mitigating Adversarial Vulnerability through Causal Parameter Estimation by Adversarial Double Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07250/) (2023)
- [Machine Learning in NextG Networks via Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.04453/) (2022)
- [Adversarial Attacks on Deep Learning Based mmWave Beam Prediction in 5G and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.13989/) (2021)
- [When Machine Learning Meets Spectrum Sharing Security: Methodologies and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.04677/) (2022)
- [Jamming Attacks on Federated Learning in Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05172/) (2022)
- [Membership Inference Attack and Defense for Wireless Signal Classifiers with Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.12173/) (2021)
- [Wild Networks: Exposure of 5G Network Infrastructures to Adversarial Examples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.01531/) (2022)
- [Enabling AutoML for Zero-Touch Network Security: Use-Case Driven Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.21286/) (2025)
- [Adversarial Attacks against Deep Learning Based Power Control in Wireless Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.08139/) (2021)
- [Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence-Extended Reality (AI-XR) for Metaverses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.13289/) (2022)
- [Securing NextG Systems against Poisoning Attacks on Federated Learning: A Game-Theoretic Solution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.17164/) (2023)
- [Towards Zero Touch Networks: Cross-Layer Automated Security Solutions for 6G Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20627/) (2025)
- [Adversarial Machine Learning and Defense Game for NextG Signal Classification with Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.11778/) (2022)
- [AIR: Threats of Adversarial Attacks on Deep Learning-Based Information Recovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.16706/) (2023)
- [AdIoTack: Quantifying and Refining Resilience of Decision Tree Ensemble Inference Models against Adversarial Volumetric Attacks on IoT Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.09792/) (2022)
- [Vaccinating Federated Learning for Robust Modulation Classification in Distributed Wireless Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.12772/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Machine learning finds rich applications in Internet of Things (IoT) networks such as information retrieval, traffic management, spectrum sensing, and signal authentication. While there is a surge of interest to understand the security issues of machine learning, their implications have not been understood yet for wireless applications such as those in IoT systems that are susceptible to various attacks due the open and broadcast nature of wireless communications. To support IoT systems with heterogeneous devices of different priorities, we present new techniques built upon adversarial machine learning and apply them to three types of over-the-air (OTA) wireless attacks, namely jamming, spectrum poisoning, and priority violation attacks. By observing the spectrum, the adversary starts with an exploratory attack to infer the channel access algorithm of an IoT transmitter by building a deep neural network classifier that predicts the transmission outcomes. Based on these prediction results, the wireless attack continues to either jam data transmissions or manipulate sensing results over the air (by transmitting during the sensing phase) to fool the transmitter into making wrong transmit decisions in the test phase (corresponding to an evasion attack). When the IoT transmitter collects sensing results as training data to retrain its channel access algorithm, the adversary launches a causative attack to manipulate the input data to the transmitter over the air. We show that these attacks with different levels of energy consumption and stealthiness lead to significant loss in throughput and success ratio in wireless communications for IoT systems. Then we introduce a defense mechanism that systematically increases the uncertainty of the adversary at the inference stage and improves the performance. Results provide new insights on how to attack and defend IoT networks using deep learning.