The candidate invention employs a co-channel spread spectrum underlay signal that is time synchronized and phase coherent to the simultaneously transmitted primary signal. By virtue of time/phase synchronization and the shared center frequency, the underlay signal may be used to improve signal acquisition, equalization, and tracking; convey small amounts of protected data; increase data security in packetized communication links by obfuscating specific header fields like addresses; and potentially serve as a tools for improved edge security / wireless user authentication.