Multi-node coordinated jamming for location privacy protection

In wireless sensor networks, adversaries can easily threaten the location privacy of sensor nodes using ordinary localization techniques. By collecting basic physical layer information, such as signal strength and time of arrival, adversaries can precisely locate the target nodes. Although basic anti-localization techniques based on power control and directional antennas are believed to mitigate such localization attacks in the radio physical layer, there has been little research on location privacy protection techniques by obfuscating physical layer information. In this paper, we propose a novel jamming technique that prevents adversaries from locating target nodes by mixing the jamming signal from neighboring nodes. We introduce this beneficial use of jamming technique, which uses single- or multiple- jammers, to improve location privacy while providing similar link throughputs. In addition, we introduce the Multi Cooperator Power Control (MCPC) algorithm to control jamming noise power, which further increases location privacy by actively controlling the strength of jamming noise.