Lightweight authentication for IoT devices (LAID) in sustainable smart cities

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity
• Networking

Background:

• The expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in smart cities presents significant security challenges due to their constrained nature.
• Existing authentication algorithms are often computationally intensive and lack essential features like password updates, leaving IoT networks vulnerable to various attacks.
• Growing urban populations and the exponential rise in IoT devices exacerbate the need for robust security mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, lightweight 4-phase authentication algorithm for IoT devices in sustainable smart cities (SSC).
• To enhance security by incorporating Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and a password update feature.
• To reduce computational and communication overhead compared to existing solutions.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 4-phase lightweight authentication algorithm using Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
• Formal security analysis using the AVISPA tool and informal semantic analysis.
• Performance evaluation of computational time, communication cost, and energy consumption.

Main Results:

• The proposed algorithm demonstrates a computational time of 1.248 ms and a communication cost of 1036 bits.
• Formal and informal analyses confirm security against Man-in-the-Middle (MITM), insider, replay, and device capture attacks.
• Achieved a 22.19% improvement in computation, 28.05% in communication, and 22.19% in energy costs compared to state-of-the-art approaches.

Conclusions:

• The proposed lightweight authentication algorithm is highly effective for securing IoT devices in sustainable smart cities.
• The algorithm offers significant improvements in efficiency and security, addressing the limitations of current methods.
• This research contributes a practical and efficient solution for enhancing the security posture of IoT ecosystems in smart city environments.