SEAF-IoD: Secure and efficient user authentication framework for the Internet of Drones

The Internet of Drones (IoD) stands as a rapidly advancing technology, finding applications across civilian, military, and industrial domains, facilitating the efficient execution of challenging tasks. However, the IoD environment introduces a plethora of security concerns. Drones, for example, must exchange critical information with control station servers and users through open and unsecured wireless channels. Consequently, protecting these sensitive data becomes paramount, leading to the development of SEAF-IoD, a secure and efficient user authentication framework for the IoD, as presented in this paper. SEAF-IoD relies on symmetric encryption, physical uncloneable functions (PUF), and hash functions. This framework empowers users to securely establish connections and obtain real-time data from specific drones deployed within the IoD environment. Furthermore, the utilization of PUF holds great promise in achieving cost-effective security. PUF obviates the necessity to store confidential keys in device memory, offering a potential alternative for establishing a more secure and cost-efficient authentication framework for IoD systems. PUF empowers the SEAF-IoD to enhance its resilience against privileged insider attacks and drone/device capture attempts. To ensure the robustness of SEAF-IoD, it undergoes rigorous validation using BAN logic and Scyther simulation. Furthermore, an informal analysis affirms that SEAF-IoD fulfills critical security requirements and effectively thwarts various adversarial threats, including privileged insider, replay, and impersonation attacks. A comprehensive comparison of SEAF-IoD against existing schemes highlights its resilience and superiority in safeguarding IoD environments.