Secure Marine Environment Communication: A Multiobject Authentication Protocol Based on Secret Sharing

Abstract

In the field of marine communication, with the rapid development of the Internet of Things, big data, blockchain, and other new-generation information technology, marine information security is gradually being attached to more and more coastal countries, and marine information technology has ushered in epoch-making development opportunities. However, marine communication networks are open, and marine equipment is vulnerable to attacks on communication systems. On the one hand, a malicious adversary can intercept and analyze information, obtain relevant data with high probability, and even obtain the identity information of the equipment. On the other hand, attackers can also maliciously inject false information. At the same time, it is difficult for the existing marine information security technology to guarantee the confidentiality and authenticity of information simultaneously, which will bring substantial potential hidden dangers to the development of the ocean. We propose a multitarget authentication and key exchange protocol for secure communication. Our protocol assigns complex cryptographic operations to servers, thus balancing the system’s security and efficiency. The secret is divided into multiple subsecrets using the secret sharing feature, and the subsecret information is used to manage the identity credentials of resource-constrained devices. Then, after successful authentication, the server reassigns the subsecret information of the device to achieve the dynamic generation of identity credentials. Meanwhile, a multitarget authentication scheme is proposed based on recovering secrets. In addition, device extension measures are provided to replace or increase devices. Finally, well-established cryptographic assumptions are used to prove the protocol’s security. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the protocol in multiobjective authentication.