Lightweight Challenge-Response Authentication in SDN-Based UAVs Using Elliptic Curve Cryptography

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (also known as drones) are aircraft that do not require the presence of a human pilot to fly. UAVs can be controlled remotely by a human operator or autonomously by onboard computer systems. UAVs have many military uses, including battlefield surveillance, effective target tracking and engagement in air-to-ground warfare, and situational awareness in challenging circumstances. They also offer a distinct advantage in various applications such as forest fire monitoring and surveillance. Surveillance systems are developed using advanced technologies in the modern era of communications and networks. As a result, UAVs require enhancements to control and manage systems efficiently. Network security is a critical concern with respect to UAVs due to the risk of surveillance information theft and physical misuse. Although several new tools have been introduced to secure networks, attackers can use more advanced methods to get into a UAV network and create problems that pose an organizational threat to the entire system. Security mechanisms also reduce the performance of systems because some restrictive measures prevent users from accessing specific resources, but a few techniques and tools have overcome the problem of performance reduction in various scenarios. There are many types of attacks, i.e., denial of service attacks (DOS), distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS), address resolution protocol (ARP) spoofing, sniffing, etc., that make it challenging to maintain a UAV network. This research paper proposes a lightweight challenge-response authentication that can overcome the previously mentioned problems. As security is provided by utilizing a minimum number of bits in memory, this technique offers the same security features while using fewer network resources, low computing resources, and low power consumption.