Cognitive radio network security

Cognitive radio networks (CRNs) emerge as a possible solution to increase spectrum efficiency by allowing cognitive radios (CRs) to access spectrum in an opportunistic manner. Although security in CRNs has received less attention than other areas of CR technology, the need for addressing security issues is evidenced by two facts. First, as for any other type of wireless network, an open channel is used for communications that can easily be accessed by attackers. On the other hand, the particular attributes of CRNs raise new opportunities to malicious users, which can disrupt network operation. In this chapter, we provide an overview of those threats that are specific to CRNs. We classify them according to the layer in which the attacks are performed, give an insight of their impact on the network performance, and describe potential countermeasures that can be used to prevent them or mitigate their effect.