A PUF secured lightweight mutual authentication protocol for multi-UAV networks

Unmanned aerial vehicles, initially developed for military use, have evolved to play vital roles in civilian applications including photography, agriculture, disaster management, and delivery services. Their agility, precision, and ad-hoc formation make them indispensable, particularly in time-sensitive tasks such as search-and- rescue missions. However, the widespread use of UAVs has raised security concerns, including unauthorized access, cyberattacks, and physical threats. In addition, the dynamic nature of these networks provides adversaries with opportunities to exploit node failures leading to potential data breaches. To address these risks, implementing robust security measures such as authentication, encryption, physical security, and proactive monitoring is essential even amidst the inherent resource limitations faced by UAVs. This paper proposes a lightweight authentication and key agreement protocol for multi-UAV networks, incorporating physically unclonable technology for securing the data sent over the network. The protocol also addresses security risks during UAV failures and the unauthorized access to data. The scheme has been validated using the Scyther simulation tool, with the PUF implemented on the Xilinx FPGA platform. An informal security analysis is also presented that demonstrates its adherence to security requirements. Additionally, the performance of the proposed scheme is compared with state-of-the-art approaches by evaluating network latency in terms of computational and communication costs, affirming its effectiveness in resource-constrained applications.