CAKE-PUF: A Collaborative Authentication and Key Exchange Protocol Based on Physically Unclonable Functions for Industrial Internet of Things

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is widely used in smart factories, enabling smart manufacturing and improving productivity. Although the application of IIoT has significantly altered a number of industries, increased connectivity has also given rise to security concerns. For example, information is collected from different domains in smart industrial environments and transmitted through public IoT channels. However, this phase can lead to communication security and privacy leakage issues when applied to resource-constrained smart industrial devices. This work proposes a novel collaborative authentication and key exchange protocol based on physically unclonable functions (PUFs) to enable safe and efficient communication amongst smart industrial devices in an IIoT context. The proposed protocol uses PUF to enhance the security of smart industrial devices. Additionally, to mitigate difficult situations, such as device loss, the proposed protocol combines an elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman key exchange scheme to achieve forward security and collaborative authentication between the domain server and smart industrial devices during the key exchange phase. We analyze and provide security proofs for the proposed protocol. Furthermore, performance analysis is conducted to evaluate the computational costs of the protocol. The results of this work contribute to the development of secure and reliable authentication and key exchange protocols within the context of IIoT, promoting the adoption of IIoT technology in smart factories while reducing potential security threats.

I. Introduction

In recent years, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has experienced rapid development in various industries, primarily due to its ability to improve factory and equipment efficiency while reducing production costs [1]. The IIoT is an industrial automation application based on IoT technology, meaning it integrates physical devices with digital technologies and achieves intelligence in industrial production and management through data collection, communication, control, analysis, and optimization. Its application scope includes factory automation, logistics, and supply chain management, energy and resource management, environmental monitoring, smart cities, and healthcare [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. IIoT technology makes it possible to intelligently monitor and regulate production equipment in the context of industrial automation, improving output and quality. IIoT technology improves supply chain management and logistics efficiency by providing real-time tracking and prediction capabilities [7]. IIoT technology helps intelligent resource and energy monitoring and conservation, which lowers costs and lessens environmental pollution in the energy and resource management sector. Intelligent infrastructure monitoring and management are made possible by IIoT technology in smart cities, which enhances both the operational effectiveness of the city and the standard of living of its citizens. IIoT presents several obstacles. First, IIoT-connected devices and systems are highly susceptible for hacking and network assaults. Data theft or device manipulation in a factory might result in production line disruptions or a drop in product quality, which can then affect the enterprise’s overall performance and reputation. Second, the IIoT demands large amounts of data to be sent and stored, which calls for a strong network and cloud infrastructure. Nevertheless, these infrastructures can face problems, including inadequate capacity, network latency, and data security vulnerabilities, which would impact the factory’s productivity. Finally, the development of IIoT also requires tackling technological problems, including protocol formulation, standardization, and cross-platform compatibility. The growth and reach of IIoT applications may be constrained if these problems are not resolved.