Local Information-Theoretic Security via Euclidean Geometry

Abstract: This paper introduces a methodology based on Euclidean information theory to investigate local properties of secure communication over discrete memoryless wiretap channels. We formulate a constrained optimization problem that maximizes a legitimate user's information rate while imposing explicit upper bounds on both the information leakage to an eavesdropper and the informational cost of encoding the secret message. By leveraging local geometric approximations, this inherently non-convex problem is transformed into a tractable quadratic programming structure. It is demonstrated that the optimal Lagrange multipliers governing this approximated problem can be found by solving a linear program. The constraints of this linear program are derived from Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions and are expressed in terms of the generalized eigenvalues of channel-derived matrices. This framework facilitates the derivation of an analytical formula for an approximate local secrecy capacity. Furthermore, we define and analyze a new class of secret local contraction coefficients. These coefficients, characterized as the largest generalized eigenvalues of a matrix pencil, quantify the maximum achievable ratio of approximate utility to approximate leakage, thus measuring the intrinsic local leakage efficiency of the channel. We establish bounds connecting these local coefficients to their global counterparts defined over true mutual information measures. The efficacy of the proposed framework is demonstrated through detailed analysis and numerical illustrations for both general multi-mode channels and the canonical binary symmetric wiretap channel.