Securing Optical Wireless Communication: A Cryptographic Approach for Li-Fi Networks
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| Format: | Recurso digital |
| Langue: | anglais |
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Zenodo
2026
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| _version_ | 1866901817143590912 |
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| author | Yogesh T. Patil, Pallavi Soni |
| author_facet | Yogesh T. Patil, Pallavi Soni |
| contents | <p><span lang="EN-IN">Li-Fi (Light Fidelity)</span><span lang="EN-IN"> has emerged as a revolutionary optical wireless communication (OWC) technology that uses visible light to transmit data at high speed, offering a compelling alternative to conventional RF-based systems, especially in environments sensitive to electromagnetic interference and those demanding high-density connectivity. Despite the inherent physical security advantage that visible light beams cannot penetrate walls, Li-Fi remains vulnerable to practical threats such as <span>eavesdropping, interception, and sophisticated signal manipulation</span> through channel leakage, reflection, and ambient light noise, which necessitates robust, network-layer security mechanisms. Addressing this critical gap, this research proposes a novel <span>hybrid cryptographic framework</span> specifically designed to be lightweight and scalable for the resource-constrained nature of OWC devices. The framework systematically combines the robust, high-throughput capabilities of the <span>Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)</span> for efficient bulk data encryption with the low-power, compact key size security of <span>Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)</span> for efficient session key exchange, authentication, and non-repudiation. The proposed system ensures <span>data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication</span> between the transmitter (LED-based) and receiver (photodiode-based) nodes within a Li-Fi network, providing end-to-end security that is essential for mission-critical applications. <span>Novel contributions</span> include a lightweight key management protocol tailored to the dynamic and typically line-of-sight visible light links, and a detailed <span>power consumption analysis</span> of the cryptographic operations confirming its suitability for energy-efficient IoT Li-Fi applications. Experimental simulations, conducted on a realistic Li-Fi channel model incorporating signal-to-noise ratio degradation, demonstrate that the encryption overhead is minimal ($<8\%$), which is highly competitive, while simultaneously maintaining a high network <span>throughput efficiency of $94.5\%$</span>. Furthermore, the proposed hybrid cryptosystem is rigorously proven to achieve <span>robust resistance</span> against modern cryptanalytic attacks, including differential analysis, man-in-the-middle attacks, and brute-force key search, thereby establishing a new, feasible security benchmark for secure data transmission across practical Li-Fi deployments and laying the foundation for integrating advanced cryptographic features into future OWC standards.</span></p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_18195343 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Securing Optical Wireless Communication: A Cryptographic Approach for Li-Fi Networks Yogesh T. Patil, Pallavi Soni Li-Fi, Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), Visible Light Communication (VLC), Hybrid Cryptosystem, AES, ECC, Data Security, Throughput Efficiency, Eavesdropping Mitigation, Resource-Constrained Devices, IoT Security <p><span lang="EN-IN">Li-Fi (Light Fidelity)</span><span lang="EN-IN"> has emerged as a revolutionary optical wireless communication (OWC) technology that uses visible light to transmit data at high speed, offering a compelling alternative to conventional RF-based systems, especially in environments sensitive to electromagnetic interference and those demanding high-density connectivity. Despite the inherent physical security advantage that visible light beams cannot penetrate walls, Li-Fi remains vulnerable to practical threats such as <span>eavesdropping, interception, and sophisticated signal manipulation</span> through channel leakage, reflection, and ambient light noise, which necessitates robust, network-layer security mechanisms. Addressing this critical gap, this research proposes a novel <span>hybrid cryptographic framework</span> specifically designed to be lightweight and scalable for the resource-constrained nature of OWC devices. The framework systematically combines the robust, high-throughput capabilities of the <span>Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)</span> for efficient bulk data encryption with the low-power, compact key size security of <span>Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)</span> for efficient session key exchange, authentication, and non-repudiation. The proposed system ensures <span>data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication</span> between the transmitter (LED-based) and receiver (photodiode-based) nodes within a Li-Fi network, providing end-to-end security that is essential for mission-critical applications. <span>Novel contributions</span> include a lightweight key management protocol tailored to the dynamic and typically line-of-sight visible light links, and a detailed <span>power consumption analysis</span> of the cryptographic operations confirming its suitability for energy-efficient IoT Li-Fi applications. Experimental simulations, conducted on a realistic Li-Fi channel model incorporating signal-to-noise ratio degradation, demonstrate that the encryption overhead is minimal ($<8\%$), which is highly competitive, while simultaneously maintaining a high network <span>throughput efficiency of $94.5\%$</span>. Furthermore, the proposed hybrid cryptosystem is rigorously proven to achieve <span>robust resistance</span> against modern cryptanalytic attacks, including differential analysis, man-in-the-middle attacks, and brute-force key search, thereby establishing a new, feasible security benchmark for secure data transmission across practical Li-Fi deployments and laying the foundation for integrating advanced cryptographic features into future OWC standards.</span></p> |
| title | Securing Optical Wireless Communication: A Cryptographic Approach for Li-Fi Networks |
| topic | Li-Fi, Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), Visible Light Communication (VLC), Hybrid Cryptosystem, AES, ECC, Data Security, Throughput Efficiency, Eavesdropping Mitigation, Resource-Constrained Devices, IoT Security |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18195343 |