Securing the IoT-enabled smart healthcare system: A PUF-based resource-efficient authentication mechanism.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Healthcare Technology
• Cybersecurity

Background:

• Cloud computing is essential for smart healthcare applications using the Internet of Things (IoT).
• Protecting sensitive medical data privacy and security is critical due to increased digital health services.
• Existing security measures may not adequately defend against sophisticated cyber threats in healthcare IoT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a secure and resource-efficient cloud-enabled authentication mechanism for medical IoT environments.
• To ensure robust protection of sensitive patient data against unauthorized access and cyberattacks.
• To enhance the overall efficiency of smart healthcare systems through reduced computational and communication overheads.

Main Methods:

• A novel authentication mechanism requiring registration of medical IoT devices, users, and servers with a trusted authority.
• Cloud server verification of both user and IoT device authenticity before data access.
• Empirical and formal analyses to evaluate the mechanism's efficiency and security resilience.

Main Results:

• The proposed authentication mechanism significantly reduces computational and communication overheads.
• Empirical analysis confirms improved system efficiency in cloud-enabled healthcare applications.
• Formal and informal security analyses demonstrate resilience against various cyberattacks.

Conclusions:

• The developed authentication mechanism provides a secure and efficient solution for protecting data in smart healthcare IoT systems.
• This approach is vital for safeguarding sensitive medical information and ensuring authorized access.
• The mechanism effectively addresses the security and privacy challenges posed by the expanding healthcare IoT landscape.