A Threshold Authenticated Encryption Scheme for Secure Communications in Aging-in-Place Systems

The global trend toward aging populations shows the significance of Aging in Place (AiP), which necessitates advanced technologies that enhance both the safety and autonomy of the elderly within their familiar environments. In this context, secure and efficient communication within Internet of Things (IoT) networks for AiP systems becomes crucial. In this paper, we present a novel threshold authenticated encryption scheme designed specifically for AiP contexts. Our proposed scheme integrates the EIGamal threshold decryption with a binary fuse filter, effectively minimizing the frequency of communication group key updates thereby reducing communication overhead. Furthermore, our scheme applies the ASCON encryption algorithm to secure messages’ contents, ensuring the transmitted data’s security. Security analysis confirms that our proposed scheme satisfies the security requirements, which ensures confidentiality and integrity. Performance evaluations also validate its efficiency, highlighting its advantages in terms of communication, storage, and computation overheads.