Secure communication in cognitive radio networks

Support for various multimedia applications in wireless networks demands additional bandwidth in the radio frequency spectrum. Efficient spectrum management algorithms are necessary to achieve immense success in wireless communications. Cognitive radio seems to be a panacea for increased utilization of licensed spectrum. It is defined as the new state of art technique that opportunistically share the licensed spectrum while imposing minimum interference to the licensed users. In this paper, we explore the adaptive characteristics of cognitive radio in secure and reliable communication. But the question is how to make the communication reliable such that there occurs no eavesdropping and information leakage. The possible solutions include integrating the merits of spread spectrum modulation, using encryption algorithms (public key and private key encryption), and its potential to switch over various frequency bands. In this paper, we focus on the various applications of cognitive radio and the numerous methodologies which enable a secure communication network.