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Open AccessSystematic Review
Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications
by
Patrícia Rodrigues de Araújo
Patrícia Rodrigues de Araújo 1,*
,
José Antônio Moreira de Rezende
José Antônio Moreira de Rezende 1,2
,
Décio Rennó de Mendonça Faria
Décio Rennó de Mendonça Faria 1
and
Otávio de Souza Martins Gomes
Otávio de Souza Martins Gomes
de Araújo, P. R. received the B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal Rural of the [...]
de Araújo, P. R. received the B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA), Brazil. She is a laboratory electronics technician, researcher, and extension project coordinator at the Institute of Systems Engineering and Information Technology (IESTI) of the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), where she is also pursuing the M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering. Her professional experience includes electronics, control, and automation, with a focus on the development of embedded solutions. She works in the CyberOT research project on cybersecurity for operational technologies, with research interests in radio-frequency systems, wireless security, the Internet of Things (IoT and IIoT), and RF-based cyber-physical threat detection.
1
1
Systems Engineering and Information Technology Institute, Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), Itajubá 37500-903, MG, Brazil
2
Academic Area of Electrical Engineering, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais (IFMG), Formiga 35577-020, MG, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2026, 26(2), 747; https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 5 December 2025
/
Revised: 31 December 2025
/
Accepted: 16 January 2026
/
Published: 22 January 2026
Abstract
Cybersecurity in radio frequency (RF) technologies has become a critical concern, driven by the expansion of connected systems in urban and industrial environments. Although research on wireless networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) has advanced, comprehensive studies that provide a global and integrated view of cybersecurity development in this field remain limited. This work presents a scientometric and systematic review of international publications from 2009 to 2025, integrating the PRISMA protocol with semantic screening supported by a Large Language Model to enhance classification accuracy and reproducibility. The analysis identified two interdependent axes: one focusing on signal integrity and authentication in GNSS systems and cellular networks; the other addressing the resilience of IoT networks, both strongly associated with spoofing and jamming, as well as replay, relay, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks. The results highlight the relevance of RF cybersecurity in securing communication infrastructures and expose gaps in widely adopted technologies such as RFID, NFC, BLE, ZigBee, LoRa, Wi-Fi, and unlicensed ISM bands, as well as in emerging areas like terahertz and 6G. These gaps directly affect the reliability and availability of IoT and wireless communication systems, increasing security risks in large-scale deployments such as smart cities and cyber–physical infrastructures.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Araújo, P.R.d.; Rezende, J.A.M.d.; Faria, D.R.d.M.; Gomes, O.d.S.M.
Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications. Sensors 2026, 26, 747.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747
AMA Style
Araújo PRd, Rezende JAMd, Faria DRdM, Gomes OdSM.
Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications. Sensors. 2026; 26(2):747.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747
Chicago/Turabian Style
Araújo, Patrícia Rodrigues de, José Antônio Moreira de Rezende, Décio Rennó de Mendonça Faria, and Otávio de Souza Martins Gomes.
2026. "Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications" Sensors 26, no. 2: 747.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747
APA Style
Araújo, P. R. d., Rezende, J. A. M. d., Faria, D. R. d. M., & Gomes, O. d. S. M.
(2026). Cybersecurity in Radio Frequency Technologies: A Scientometric and Systematic Review with Implications for IoT and Wireless Applications. Sensors, 26(2), 747.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s26020747
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