A service-categorized security scheme with physical unclonable functions for internet of vehicles

Abstract

In smart cities, communication and information exchange for the Internet of Vehicles rely on open and closed infrastructures along the roadside. Secure communications rely on the sender and receiver devices having self-sustaining authentication methods. The perquisites of the authentication methods are to grip communication without being falsified by an adversary or unidentified third parties. This article introduces the Service-Categorized Security Scheme (SCSS) with a physically unclonable function (PUF) for handling sensitive guidance/communication information. The vehicle-side authentication, access control, and service demands are governed using service-based PUF factors such as digital signatures, passwords, etc. To prevent anonymous third parties and adversaries, the PUF operates over compromised and uncompromised communication devices. Device-specific keys generated by PUFs based on intrinsic physical variances help identify between compromised and uncompromised devices, while keys generated by uncompromised devices conform to their expected profiles In the service-sharing process, mutual authentication using synchronized keys is used for security and service verification. The synchronized keys are integrated with the PUF for monitoring de-synchronization and individual operation. This decision is made using federated learning from the external service provider and the communicator of the vehicle. Through the learning process, a de-synchronization occurrence at the service provider and vehicle is identified as the reason for disconnecting the session. As a result, any suspicious activity that contradicts service security is identified, and the information of the communicating vehicle is secured. The proposed scheme is analyzed using the metrics authentication time, adversary detection ratio, complexity, de-synchronization time, and successful sessions.