Secure Group Communication Research Articles

Retraction Note: Hybrid intelligence system using fuzzy inference in cluster architecture for secured group communication

Retraction Note: Hybrid intelligence system using fuzzy inference in cluster architecture for secured group communication

Network impact analysis on the performance of Secure Group Communication schemes with focus on IoT

Secure and scalable group communication environments are essential for many IoT applications as they are the cornerstone for different IoT devices to work together securely to realize smart applications such as smart cities or smart health. Such applications are often implemented in Wireless Sensor Networks, posing additional challenges. Sensors usually have low capacity and limited network connectivity bandwidth. Over time, a variety of Secure Group Communication (SGC) schemes have emerged, all with their advantages and disadvantages. This variety makes it difficult for users to determine the best protocol for their specific application purpose. When selecting a Secure Group Communication scheme, it is crucial to know the model’s performance under varying network conditions. Research focused so far only on performance in terms of server and client runtimes. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to perform a network-based performance analysis of SGC schemes. Specifically, we analyze the network impact on the two centralized SGC schemes SKDC and LKH and one decentralized/contributory SGC scheme G-DH. To this end, we used the ComBench tool to simulate different network situations and then measured the times required for the following group operations: group creation, adding and removing members. The evaluation of our simulation results indicates that packet loss and delay influence the respective SGC schemes differently and that the execution time of the group operations depends more on the network situations than on the group sizes.

Benchmarking of Secure Group Communication schemes with focus on IoT

As Internet of Things (IoT) devices become ubiquitous, they face increasing cybersecurity threats. Unlike standard 1-to-1 communication, the unique challenge posed by n-to-n communication in IoT is that messages must not be encrypted for a single recipient but for a group of recipients. For this reason, using Secure Group Communication (SGC) schemes is necessary to encrypt n-to-n communication efficiently for large group sizes. To this end, the literature presents various SGC schemes with varying features, performance profiles, and architectures, making the selection process challenging. A selection from this multitude of SGC schemes should best be made based on a benchmark that provides an overview of the performance of the schemes. Such a benchmark would make it much easier for developers to select an SGC scheme, but such a benchmark still needs to be created. This paper aims to close this gap by presenting a benchmark for SGC schemes that focus on IoT. Since the design of a benchmark first requires the definition of the underlying business problems, we defined suitable problems for using SGC schemes in the IoT sector as the first step. We identified a common problem for the centralized and decentralized/hybrid SGC schemes, whereas the distributed/contributory SGC schemes required defining an independent business problem. Based on these business problems, we first designed a specification-based benchmark, which we then extended to a hybrid benchmark through corresponding implementations. Finally, we deployed our hybrid benchmark in a typical IoT environment and measured and compared the performance of different SGC schemes. Our findings reveal notable impacts on calculation times and storage requirements without a trusted Central Instance (CI) in distributed/contributory SGC schemes.

Dynamic Privacy-Preserving Anonymous Authentication Scheme for Condition-Matching in Fog-Cloud-Based VANETs.

Secure group communication in Vehicle Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) over open channels remains a challenging task. To enable secure group communications with conditional privacy, it is necessary to establish a secure session using Authenticated Key Agreement (AKA). However, existing AKAs suffer from problems such as cross-domain dynamic group session key negotiation and heavy computational burdens on the Trusted Authority (TA) and vehicles. To address these challenges, we propose a dynamic privacy-preserving anonymous authentication scheme for condition matching in fog-cloud-based VANETs. The scheme employs general Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC) technology and fog-cloud computing methods to decrease computational overhead for On-Board Units (OBUs) and supports multiple TAs for improved service quality and robustness. Furthermore, certificateless technology alleviates TAs of key management burdens. The security analysis indicates that our solution satisfies the communication security and privacy requirements. Experimental simulations verify that our method achieves optimal overall performance with lower computational costs and smaller communication overhead compared to state-of-the-art solutions.

User driven general framework to cap the joins in secure group communication

User driven general framework to cap the joins in secure group communication

Electrocardiogram Based Group Device Pairing for Wearables

The widespread usage of wearables to provide healthcare services prompts the need for secure group communication among multiple devices using group keys. Gait-based group key establishment schemes are either vulnerable to video attacks, or fail to offer a secure group key update mechanism when group device changes. In this paper, we present an electrocardiogram (ECG) signals based group device pairing protocol, which can strengthen the security and reduce the overhead of wearables. Specifically, we first design a robust and lightweight fuzzy extractor that supports secure and efficient group device association between wearables. Meanwhile, we propose Improved Martingale Randomness Extraction (IMRE) algorithm, which utilizes the trend of InterPulse Interval (IPI) from ECG signal to extract high-entropy keys. Then we present a membership management mechanism that enables group key dynamic update when group device changes. Finally, we simulate our protocol and evaluate the accuracy and efficiency by various experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed work is robust and efficient, and the threat model-based security analysis shows that the proposed protocol can prevent both active and passive attacks.

A dynamic group key agreement scheme for UAV networks based on blockchain

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), group communication is an important communication mode, and group key agreement technology is the key to ensure the security of group communication. Due to the influence of node movement, topology change and network congestion in MANETs, the traditional group key agreement technology has many security and performance problems, such as node authentication, access control, data integrity, topology maintenance, routing protocol and so on. Therefore, we propose a certificateless dynamic group key protocol scheme based on blockchain, which can be used for cluster communication in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In our scheme, blockchain technology is used to realize the agreement of group keys, which protects privacy and ensures the transparency of the agreement process. All nodes can verify the generation process of the group key through the information recorded in the blockchain. Meanwhile, the consensus algorithm of blockchain can ensure that the process of generating group keys is fair and there is no interference from malicious nodes. In addition, we propose a certificateless authentication protocol, which solves the problems of key escrow and batch authentication in traditional group key agreement technology. We have made formal security analysis and performance analysis, and the results show that this scheme is more secure and efficient than the existing certificateless group key protocol. This scheme can solve the problems existing in traditional group key agreement technology, such as key leakage and centralized management, and realize secure access control and key agreement mechanism. Therefore, this scheme is a safe and efficient solution, which can be effectively applied to the communication security of UAV network.

SED-SGC: A scalable, efficient, and distributed secure group communication scheme based on superlattice PUF

A critical challenge in group communication is to guarantee the authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of sensitive data, especially in scenarios with potential and prospective massive device access, such as the Internet of Everything (IoE). This paper explores a scalable, efficient, distributed secure group communication (SED-SGC) scheme that employs superlattice Physical Unclonable Function (PUF), tree structure, and the Decision Diffie–Hellman Problem. In SED-SGC, superlattice PUF facilitates lightweight, high-security mutual authentication and key generation. The Decision Diffie–Hellman Problem and tree structure construct group key agreement and dynamic member management protocol with logarithmic complexity, achieving forward and backward secrecy. Also, we demonstrate that SED-SGC can effectively guarantee security against multiple attack methods such as collusion attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM), and impersonation attacks.

Recommendation of secure group communication schemes using multi-objective optimization

The proliferation of IoT devices has made them an attractive target for hackers to launch attacks on systems, as was the case with Netflix or Spotify in 2016. As the number of installed IoT devices is expected to increase worldwide, so does the potential threat and the importance of securing these devices and their communications. One approach to mitigate potential threats is the usage of the so-called Secure Group Communications (SGC) schemes to secure the communication of the devices. However, it is difficult to determine the most appropriate SGC scheme for a given use case because many different approaches are proposed in the literature. To facilitate the selection of an SGC scheme, this work examines 34 schemes in terms of their computational and communication costs and their security characteristics, leading to 24 performance and security features. Based on this information, we modeled the selection process for centralized, distributed, and decentralized schemes as a multi-objective problem and used decision trees to prioritize objectives.

Fully Homomorphic Encryption with Optimal Key Generation Secure Group Communication in Internet of Things Environment

The Internet of Things or “IoT” determines the highly interconnected network of heterogeneous devices where each type of communication seems to be possible, even unauthorized. Consequently, the security requirement for these networks became crucial, while conventional Internet security protocol was identified as unusable in these types of networks, especially because of some classes of IoT devices with constrained resources. Secure group communication (SGC) in the IoT environment is vital to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of data swapped within a collection of IoT devices. Typically, IoT devices were resource-constrained with limited memory, processing, energy, and power, which makes SGC a difficult task. This article designs a Fully Homomorphic Encryption with Optimal Key Generation Secure Group Communication (FHEOKG-SGC) technique in the IoT environment. The presented FHEOKG-SGC technique mainly focuses on the encryption and routing of data securely in the IoT environment via group communication. To accomplish this, the presented FHEOKG-SGC technique initially designs an FHE-based encryption technique to secure the data in the IoT environment. Next, the keys in the FHE technique are chosen optimally using the sine cosine algorithm (SCA). At the same time, the plum tree algorithm (PTA) is applied for the identification of the routes in the IoT network. Finally, the FHEOKG-SGC technique employs a trust model to improve the secure communication process, and the key management center is used for optimal handling of the keys. The simulation analysis of the FHEOKG-SGC technique is tested using a series of experiments, and the outcomes are studied under various measures. An extensive comparative study highlighted the improvement of the FHEOKG-SGC algorithm over other recent approaches.

Provably Secure Receiver-Unrestricted Group Key Management Scheme for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are self-configuring networks of wireless nodes, i.e., mobile devices. Since communications in MANETs occur via wireless channels, it is of significance to secure communications among wireless and mobile nodes. Group key management, as a widely used method for securing group communications, has potentially been used in MANETs for years. Most recently, a secure receiver-unrestricted group key management scheme for MANETs has been proposed, which is used to establish a secure channel among a group of wireless nodes without a trusted dealer, which has some advantages such as eliminating the certificate management problem and receiver restriction. However, a formal security analysis of this scheme is still lacking. Therefore, in this paper, we propose the complete security proof to demonstrate that the scheme satisfies the essential security properties including authentication, message confidentiality, known-key security and dynamic secrecy. We also give a brief discussion about the efficiency of the scheme.

Extremely Lightweight Constant-Round Membership-Authenticated Group Key Establishment for Resource-Constrained Smart Environments toward 5G

AbstractWith rapid development of next-generation mobile networks and communications (5G networks), group-oriented applications in resource-constrained smart environments (RSEs), such as smart homes and smart classrooms, have attracted great attentions. Due to the insecure communications between resource-constrained devices, secure group communications in RSE toward 5G face many challenges. In RSE toward 5G, lightweight communications and low computational overheads are crucial. Besides, the private tokens used to generate the group key are expected to be reused multiple times. However, the conventional frameworks for secure group communications cannot meet these requirements. A practical construction of extremely lightweight constant-round membership authenticated group key establishment framework is proposed in this paper for RSE toward 5G, which not only implements identity authentication among the members and group key establishment but also ensures extremely lightweight computation and communication costs by each group member. In our proposed scheme, the increase in the number of group members will not lead to a linear or logarithmic increase in the communication and calculation costs at the member side. Our framework also resists external and internal attacks and meets all the desirable security features. In this framework, the privacy of tokens can be well protected, so that they can be reused for multiple times. Therefore, our scheme significantly reduces the costs of communication and calculation, and it is more efficient compared with the related schemes in the literature. This proposal is fairly suitable for lightweight membership authentication and group key establishment in RSE toward 5G.

Blockchain IOTA Sharding-Based Scalable Secure Group Communication in Large VANETs

The advent of group-oriented communication applications has triggered research on secure group communication (SGC) in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). Given this, some researchers worked in this area and proposed various schemes. However, these systems lacking the dynamic nature, and struggling with larger processing loads, enormous storage, increased communications, security, and privacy concerns. Further, with the increase in the size of VANET, it is challenging to manage processing loads and storage requirements of group controller (GC)-centric group key agreement (GKA). To address these drawbacks in existing VANET communications, we propose a blockchain IOTA sharding-based smart contract-centric GKA for SGC in large VANETs. In this scheme, we partition the main network into <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${r}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> sharded subnetworks using blockchain sharding technique, with <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G_{1}, G_{2}, G_{3},\ldots, G_{r}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> as smart contract (SC) instances generated by GC, G, which functions as Sub-GC (Sub-GC) to their respective shards. Under the Elliptic curve decision Diffie–Hellman (ECDDH) and group-Elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman (GECCDH) assumptions, the proposed protocol is proven to be secure. The suggested protocol outperforms the other protocols for secure communication in large VANETs, according to the performance analysis.

NTRU and Secret Sharing Based Secure Group Communication for IoT Applications

NTRU and Secret Sharing Based Secure Group Communication for IoT Applications

A Review on Key Administration and Distribution in Secure Group Communications

A Review on Key Administration and Distribution in Secure Group Communications

Wireless Sensor Network Security Analysis for Data and Aggregation

Data security is critical in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) because communication signals are highly available due to data transmission in free space. Attacks ranging from passive eavesdropping to active snooping are more common on these networks. This paper proposes secure data transfer using data encryption based on the improved Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) with Diffie–Hellman (DH) key exchange algorithm (IRSA-DH). For this purpose, the adaptive distance-based agglomerative hierarchical (ADAH)-based clustering method is used. Then the cluster head (CH) is selected using the improved weight-based rain optimization (IWRO) to improve the network’s lifespan. This study aims to design a secure group communication method for WSNs. In order to generate and distribute the key to the group, the RSA and DH and key exchange algorithm had been hybridized with the Key Management Center (KMC). For safe communication between users, the key exchange technique is investigated. The performance measures such as throughput, packet loss ratio (PLR), packet delivery ratio (PDR), latency, energy consumption, end-to-end delay (EED) and network lifetime are analyzed and compared with the existing approaches.

Secure Group Communications Using Twisted Group Rings

In this paper we introduce a Group Key Management protocol following the idea of the classical protocol that extends the well-known Diffie–Hellman key agreement to a group of users. The protocol is defined in a non-commutative setting, more precisely, in a twisted dihedral group ring. The protocol is defined for an arbitrary cocycle, extending previous key agreements considered for two users. The main objective of this work is to show that there is no lack of security derived from the fact that a larger amount of public information is known by an external observer.

Performance Evaluation of Group OSCORE for Secure Group Communication in the Internet of Things

The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a major application-layer protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT). The recently standardized security protocol Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (OSCORE) efficiently provides end-to-end security of CoAP messages at the application layer, also in the presence of untrusted intermediaries. At the same time, CoAP supports one-to-many communication, targeting use cases such as smart lighting and building automation, firmware update, or emergency broadcast. Securing group communication for CoAP has additional challenges. It can be done using the novel Group Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (Group OSCORE) security protocol, which fulfills the same security requirements of OSCORE in group communication environments. While evaluations of OSCORE are available, no studies exist on the performance of Group OSCORE on resource-constrained IoT devices. This article presents the results of our extensive performance evaluation of Group OSCORE over two popular constrained IoT platforms, namely Zolertia Zoul and TI Simplelink. We have implemented Group OSCORE for the Contiki-NG operating system and made our implementation available as open source software. We compared Group OSCORE against unprotected CoAP as well as OSCORE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive and experimental evaluation of Group OSCORE over real constrained IoT devices.

SPPGKM: A secure polynomial function powered group key management scheme for dynamic user environments in cloud

AbstractIn this modern era of smart cities supported by digital locker facilities, e‐governance, e‐healthcare, e‐banking, e‐learning systems, and other digital systems, People use mobile phones to upload and share sensitive documents with others. Previous group key management schemes suffer from problems such as expensive double encryptions, the need for re‐encryption during every user leave operation and becoming vulnerable to attacks. Hence, to address these three issues, this manuscript introduces a pairing based cryptography based computationally efficient protocol powered by polynomial equations. First, to reduce computational overhead during group communication, the document is encrypted only once with minimal complexity before uploaded to cloud. Second, during a user leave or join operation, the re‐encryption of documents in cloud is avoided in the group manager side by tactically relieving the group key parameters from the polynomial parameters. Finally, the security analysis shows that the careful handling of secure parameters of users averts the collusion attack, man‐in‐the‐middle attack, message modification attacks, and all other possible attacks. The implementation results portray the capacity of this work to handle secure group communications in cloud storage.

Secure and privacy-preserving D2D communication in fog computing services

Device-to-device (D2D)-aided fog network has proven to be a viable means to improve the performance of fog computing technology. To exploit the full potentials of the D2D-supported fog computing architecture, it is imperative to protect the information transmitted among collaborating fog nodes against unauthorized access as failure to do so may have catastrophic consequences. However, this critical issue has not been investigated in most of the existing works. Therefore, this paper proposes a secure and privacy-aware trust-based communication strategy for fog-to-fog collaborative services. An elliptic curve cryptography (ECC)-based two-party authentication and key agreement protocol is designed to allow two collaborating fog nodes generate a unique shared secret session key. A multi-colony head selection strategy is proposed using a multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM), where multiple fog nodes are selected as colony head. A new efficient group key distribution and updating mechanism is designed for ensuring secured group communication. Consequently, ECC-based message dissemination approaches are designed for intra- and inter-colony trustworthy communications, where the generated secret session and group keys are used for data encryption. Moreover, we demonstrate that the proposed scheme guarantees data confidentiality and unforgeability against both Type I and Type II adversaries in the random oracle model (ROM) based on the intractability of the Computational Diffie–Hellman Problem (CDHP) and Discrete Logarithm Problem (DLP), respectively. An extensive performance analysis shows that the proposed scheme is very efficient and suitable for practical deployment. Comparative analysis reveals that the proposed scheme reports an improvement of about 33.15%–93.88%, 18.87%–67.91% , and 38.5%–93.8% in computation cost, communication overhead, and energy consumption, respectively, over the state-of-the-art related schemes.