Secure and Anonymous Batch Authentication and Key Exchange Protocols for 6G Enabled VANETs

Abstract

Advancements in 6G communication technology hold great promise for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), providing critical real-time data to vehicles with low latency, high speed, and enhanced network capacity. While 6G communications significantly improve transportation efficiency, they also introduce significant challenges in securing communication. Several studies have addressed anonymous authentication and key exchange protocols for 6G-enabled VANETs, including the work (doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2021.3099488) by Vijayakumar et al. on Anonymous Batch Authentication and Key Exchange Protocols. Although this protocol is claimed to be secure, our analysis identifies critical vulnerabilities, including susceptibility to man-in-the-middle attacks, impersonation, and unauthorized access. This paper proposes a secure and anonymous batch authentication and key exchange protocol for 6G-enabled VANETs to address this challenge. The formal security analysis demonstrates that the proposed solution effectively mitigates man-in-the-middle attacks, impersonation, and unauthorized access. Additionally, performance evaluations show that the proposed scheme is practically feasible.