Security enhancements on Home Area Networks in smart grids

Abstract

Security issues are the major concerns in the deployment of the smart grid system. One proposal of Secure, Intuitive and Low-cost Device Authentication (SILDA) mechanism designed for the Home Area Networks (HANs) in smart grid has presented an authentication protocol which is resilient against insider attackers, man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and impersonation attacks. However, it encounters a problem with the key management and has been proved to be vulnerable to reply attacks and unknown key sharing attacks. In this paper, we propose an Enhanced Secure Device Authentication (ESDA) scheme for the HAN in smart grid. By our proposal, t he vulnerability of the SILDA protocol can be overcome. The Burrows-Abadi-Needham Logic (BAN Logic) has been used to provide a proof on the logical correctness of the proposed scheme.