An Authenticated Key Scheme over Elliptic Curves for Topological Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable and adaptable elliptic-curve based key scheme for sensor networks, enabling dynamic network management and reducing update costs in resource-constrained environments.

Contribution

It presents a novel elliptic-curve cryptographic scheme derived from TAKS, tailored for dynamic sensor networks with efficient network updates and topology-based security.

Findings

Scheme reduces network update costs

Addresses security via elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem

Supports dynamic topology management

Abstract

Nodes of sensor networks may be resource-constrained devices, often having a limited lifetime, making sensor networks remarkably dynamic environments. Managing a cryptographic protocol on such setups may require a disproportionate effort when it comes to update the secret parameters of new nodes that enter the network in place of dismantled sensors. For this reason, the designers of schemes for sensor network are always concerned with the need of scalable and adaptable solutions. In this work, we present a novel elliptic-curve based solution, derived from the previously released cryptographic protocol TAKS, which addresses this issue. We give a formal description of the scheme, built on a two-dimensional vector space over a prime field and over elliptic curves, where node topology is more relevant than node identity, allowing a dynamic handling of the network and reducing the cost of network updates. We also study some security concerns and their relation to the related discrete logarithm problem over elliptic curves.