Secure, Robust, and Energy-Efficient Authenticated Data Sharing in UAV-Assisted 6G Networks
Atefeh Mohseni Ejiyeh
TL;DR
This work tackles secure, energy-efficient content sharing in UAV-assisted 6G networks by introducing SeGDS for secure group data sharing among swarm UAVs and SeDDS for direct D2D sharing with end users. Both protocols leverage certificateless signcryption and certificateless multireceiver encryption to enable lightweight, certificate-free authentication, non-repudiation, and mutual authentication, while incorporating DoS/free-riding detection and revocation. SeDDS achieves about a 3× reduction in computation, and SeGDS about a 4× reduction in communication load compared with state-of-the-art baselines, validated through analysis against practical cryptographic primitives and deployment on constrained hardware. The approaches enable resilient, scalable UAV-enabled 6G content delivery with robust security properties, including high availability and secure group cohesion under dynamic mission conditions. $K_d$ via Diffie–Hellman and $k_c=(g^a)^b=(g^b)^a$ underpin the core key exchanges, while CLGSC-based signatures ensure traceable, non-repudiable exchanges across all phases.
Abstract
This paper confronts the pressing challenges of sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication networks by harnessing the unique capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). With the ambitious promises of 6G, including ultra-reliable 1 Tbps data delivery and ultra-low latency, the demand for innovative solutions becomes imperative. Traditional terrestrial base stations, though effective, exhibit limitations in scenarios requiring ubiquitous connectivity, prompting the integration of UAVs. In response to these challenges, we introduce a comprehensive solution. This involves UAVs collaboratively downloading desired content from service providers, and subsequently establishing secure connections with users for efficient content exchange. Accordingly, we introduce two new protocols: a collaborative group data downloading scheme among UAVs called SeGDS, and SeDDS for secure direct data sharing through out-of-band autonomous Device-to-Device (D2D) communication. Leveraging certificateless signcryption and certificateless multi-receiver encryption, these protocols offer lightweight, certificate-free solutions with features such as user revocation, non-repudiation, and mutual authentication. Prioritizing high availability, the proposed protocols effectively detect Denial of Service (DoS) and free riding attacks. A thorough evaluation underscores the superiority of the proposed protocols in both security and efficiency over existing models; SeDDS reduces overall computation by 3x, imposing a lighter communication load on UAVs, while SeGDS meets swarm UAV security requirements, reducing communication costs by 4x with low computation cost.