An Efficient Multiuser Threshold–Based Dynamic Cipher Puzzle With Secure Key Generation for DoS Attacks in Smart Grid Applications

Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks in smart grid applications involve malicious attempts to disrupt or compromise the availability and functionality of the grid's services. These attacks aim to overwhelm the smart grid's assets, including communication infrastructures or sensor nodes, rendering them inaccessible or inoperable. Smart grid applications face challenges from DoS attacks, causing communication disruption, latency, and data transfer issues. Wireless sensor nodes are vulnerable to resource depletion, impacting data collection. Ensuring resilience involves dynamic authentication and efficient cryptographic protocols. To effectively address challenges in smart grid applications, the innovative Multiuser Threshold–based Dynamic Cipher Puzzle (MT-DCP) is introduced. Using a threshold function, MT-DCP minimizes sender-side delays and dynamically tailors puzzle strength for each solution. This system integrates the Improved Secure Key Generation utilizing Enhanced Identity-Based Encryption (ISKG-EIBE), enhancing overall security. Noteworthy results include an efficient 0.0091 ms computational overhead and an impressive 99.32% key sensitivity, illustrating its robustness in countering DoS attacks. Real-time implementation of the proposed work is achieved by utilizing Python3 on the Raspberry Pi 3B+ model, resulting in 6.5 KB memory usage, 168.58 ms execution time, and 3.58 J energy consumption. The holistic methodology employed by MT-DCP establishes it as a highly efficient resolution for countering false data injection concerns and ensuring the robustness of smart grid applications.