A bone conduction-based approach for secure device pairing

Yufei Chen

doi:10.1016/j.comnet.2026.112401

A bone conduction-based approach for secure device pairing

2026-08-01

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DOI：10.1016/j.comnet.2026.112401

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With the proliferation of smart devices, the security of pairing between devices has become paramount. Traditional pairing schemes typically rely on direct pairing or manual input of keys, which is cumbersome and has been proven to be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. Despite various attempts, such as out-of-band (OOB) pairing, to mitigate these drawbacks, they still have some significant limitations in practical use due to low bit rates and short transmission distances. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a secure and widely applicable pairing method. In this paper, we propose a novel device pairing scheme that uses the built-in vibrators and microphones in wearable devices to generate and receive pairing keys, and leverages the phenomenon of bone conduction in the human body to transmit these keys. Our method is secure because it utilizes vibration signals transmitted through the body, which are difficult to intercept. Additionally, we employ a multi-level modulation (MLM) scheme to enhance the bit rate during data transmission. We design a pairing protocol and create a prototype using commercial sensors. Through extensive experimentation, we have demonstrated that our system achieves a pairing success rate of 98.2% with robust performance.

Keywords:

Device pairing

Vibration

Bone conduction

A bone conduction-based approach for secure device pairing

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