Adaptive Distributed Physical-Layer Authentication and Attack Detection in 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks via Causal Meta-Learning — Paper

Abstract

Physical-layer authentication (PLA) in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) is challenged by severe Doppler shifts, long delays, and fast channel variations, which cause distribution shifts and degrade conventional learning methods. Existing PLA schemes often rely on single features or generalize poorly to unseen environments. This paper proposes a secure adaptive framework for authentication in multi-zone networks (SAFA-MZ), a causal meta-learning framework for distributed PLA (DPLA) in NTNs. First, we design a multi-feature fingerprint that combines spatial, angular, combiner, subspace, and Doppler-delay features. The fingerprint is adaptive and distributed, as it fuses heterogeneous physical-layer features and measurements from multiple aerial nodes. Second, we formulate a structural causal model (SCM) to capture the relations among design choices, environmental factors, extracted features, and authentication outcomes. Third, we develop a model-agnostic meta-learning (MAML) strategy with invariant risk minimization (IRM) and causal consistency regularization for fast adaptation to unseen NTN environments with few labeled samples. Fourth, we propose a two-stage authentication scheme that performs local recognition and activates time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) localization with a graph attention (GAT) network only when needed, which reduces backhaul overhead. Simulations show that SAFA-MZ achieves 92% accuracy and 96% AUC, outperforming centralized deep learning and single-feature baselines across diverse environments.

Authors 5

Parsa Rajabi, Mohammad Reza Abedi, Nader Mokari, Paeiz Azmi, Halim Yanikomeroglu

Specification

Official page: arxiv.org/abs/2609.09511
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
Arxiv announce type: cross
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
arXiv id: 2609.09511
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
Categories: eess.SP, cs.AI, cs.CR, cs.LG, cs.SY, eess.SY
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
PDF: arxiv.org/pdf/2609.09511
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
Primary category: eess.SP
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh
Published: 11 Sept 2026
Source:arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1observed 5 h agohigh

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T19

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5 h ago

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Authors: Parsa Rajabi, Mohammad Reza Abedi, Nader Mokari

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9 claims · 9 properties

Official pageofficial_url1

Claim history for Official page
Value	Valid from → to	Status	Source	Confidence	Extractor
https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.09511	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Abstractabstract1

Claim history for Abstract
Value	Valid from → to	Status	Source	Confidence	Extractor
Physical-layer authentication (PLA) in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) is challenged by severe Doppler shifts, long delays, and fast channel variations, which cause distribution shifts and degrade conventional learning methods. Existing PLA schemes often rely on single features or generalize poorly to unseen environments. This paper proposes a secure adaptive framework for authentication in multi-zone networks (SAFA-MZ), a causal meta-learning framework for distributed PLA (DPLA) in NTNs. First, we design a multi-feature fingerprint that combines spatial, angular, combiner, subspace, and Doppler-delay features. The fingerprint is adaptive and distributed, as it fuses heterogeneous physical-layer features and measurements from multiple aerial nodes. Second, we formulate a structural causal model (SCM) to capture the relations among design choices, environmental factors, extracted features, and authentication outcomes. Third, we develop a model-agnostic meta-learning (MAML) strategy with invariant risk minimization (IRM) and causal consistency regularization for fast adaptation to unseen NTN environments with few labeled samples. Fourth, we propose a two-stage authentication scheme that performs local recognition and activates time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) localization with a graph attention (GAT) network only when needed, which reduces backhaul overhead. Simulations show that SAFA-MZ achieves 92% accuracy and 96% AUC, outperforming centralized deep learning and single-feature baselines across diverse environments.	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Arxiv announce typearxiv_announce_type1

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cross	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

arXiv idarxiv_id1

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2609.09511	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Authorsauthors1

Claim history for Authors
Value	Valid from → to	Status	Source	Confidence	Extractor
Parsa Rajabi, Mohammad Reza Abedi, Nader Mokari, Paeiz Azmi, Halim Yanikomeroglu	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Categoriescategories1

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Value	Valid from → to	Status	Source	Confidence	Extractor
eess.SP, cs.AI, cs.CR, cs.LG, cs.SY, eess.SY	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

PDFpdf_url1

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https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.09511	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Primary categoryprimary_category1

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eess.SP	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

Publishedpublished_at1

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11 Sept 2026	11 Sept 2026 21:03 UTC → current	current	arXiv (Atom API + RSS)T1	high	deterministic

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11 Sept 2026
New paperPaperAdaptive Distributed Physical-Layer Authentication and Attack Detection in 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks via Causal Meta-Learning
New paper: Adaptive Distributed Physical-Layer Authentication and Attack Detection in 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks via Causal Meta-Learning
arxiv
rss.arxiv.org

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Source documents
Source	Document	Type	Tier	Last observed	Snapshots
arXiv (Atom API + RSS)	rss.arxiv.org/rss/cs.AI	feed	T1· Official	3 h ago	1

Tier 1 = official/primary, 2 = quality secondary, 3 = community, 4 = unverified. Every snapshot is archived; see all sources and the methodology.