Secure Semantic Communication over Wiretap Channel

Semantic communication is an emerging feature for future networks like 6G, which emphasizes the meaning of the message in contrast to the traditional approach where the meaning of the message is irrelevant. Yet, the open nature of a wireless channel poses security risks for semantic communications. In this paper, we derive information-theoretic limits for the secure transmission of semantic source over wiretap channel. Under separate equivocation and distortion conditions for semantics and observed data, we present the general outer and inner bounds on the rate-distortion-equivocation region. We also reduce the general region to a case of Gaussian source and channel and provide numerical evaluations.