Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An elliptic curve-based lightweight mutual authentication scheme for secure communication in smart grids

  • Original Research
  • Published:
International Journal of Information Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The energy balance between consumers and the smart grid is preserved using data transferred from the smart grids' devices to either the utility centers or the remote-control centers. However, the attackers could interfere with this data flow which could lead to an energy imbalance. Therefore, it is imperative to have a strong authentication system. In this paper, a lightweight authentication scheme based on elliptic curve cryptography is proposed for securing communications in smart grid. The proposed scheme permits the formation of a secret session key between a smart grids' device and a utility center to securely exchange sensitive data using this key. The proposed scheme can achieve mutual authentication, perfect forward secrecy, guarantee smart grid devices' anonymity and untraceability, and withstand various types of attacks in smart grids. Furthermore, compared to other recent relevant schemes, in terms of computing cost and communication overhead, the suggested scheme outperforms the related schemes and offers better security.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Algorithm 1
Algorithm 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article.

References

  1. Zahoor S, Javaid N, Khan A, Ruqia B, Muhammad FJ, Zahid M (2018) A cloud-fog-based smart grid model for efficient resource utilization. In: 2018 14th international wireless communications & mobile computing conference (IWCMC). IEEE, pp 1154–1160

  2. Gungor VC, Sahin D, Kocak T, Ergut S, Buccella C, Cecati C, Hancke GP (2011) Smart grid technologies: communication technologies and standards. IEEE Trans Ind Inf 7(4):529–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Kumar P, Gurtov A, Sain M, Martin A, Ha PH (2019) Lightweight authentication and key agreement for smart metering in smart energy networks. IEEE Trans Smart Grid 10(4):4349–4359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Gope P, Amin R, Islam H, Hafizul Islam SK, Kumar N, Bhalla VK (2018) Lightweight and privacy-preserving RFID authentication scheme for distributed IoT infrastructure with secure localization services for smart city environment. Future Generat Comput Syst 83:629–637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mahmood K, Ashraf S, Naqvi H, Shon T (2016) A lightweight message authentication scheme for smart grid communications in power sector. Comput Electr Eng 52:114–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Kumar N, Aujla GS, Das AK, Conti M (2019) ECCAuth: secure authentication protocol for demand response management in smart grid systems. IEEE Trans Ind Inform 15:6572–6582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Yu SJ, Park KS, Lee JY, Park YH, Park YH, Lee SW, Chung BH (2020) Privacy-preserving lightweight authentication protocol for demand response management in smart grid environment. Appl Sci 10(5):1758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Aziz IT, Jin H, Abdulqadder IH (2018) A lightweight scheme to authenticate and secure the communication in smart grids. Appl Sci 8(9):1508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Mohammadali A, Haghighi MS, Tadayon MH, Mohammadi-Nodooshan A (2018) A novel identity-based key establishment method for advanced metering infrastructure in smart grid. IEEE Trans Smart Grid 9(4):2834–2842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Devidas S, Rekha NR, Subba Rao YV (2023) Identity verifiable ring signature scheme for privacy protection in blockchain. Int J Inf Tecnol 15:2559–2568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-023-01282-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Wan Z, Zhu WT, Wang G (2016) PRAC: efficient privacy protection for vehicle-to-grid communications in the smart grid. Comput Secur 62:246–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Jo HJ, Kim IS, Lee DH (2016) Efficient and privacy-preserving metering protocols for smart grid systems. IEEE Trans Smart Grid 7:1732–1742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Mahmood K, Ashraf S, Naqvi H, Shon T (2016) A lightweight message authentication scheme for smart grid communications in power sector. Int J Comput Electr Eng 52:114–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Tsai JL, Lo NW (2016) Secure anonymous key distribution scheme for smart grid. IEEE Trans Smart Grid 7:906–914

    Google Scholar 

  15. Odelu V, Das AK, Wazid M, Conti M (2016) Provably secure authenticated key agreement scheme for smart grid. IEEE Trans Smart Grid 9:1900–1910

    Google Scholar 

  16. He D, Wang H, Khan MK, Wang L (2016) Lightweight anonymous key distribution scheme for smart grid using elliptic curve cryptography. IET Commun 10:1795–1802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Farhadi M, Nikooghadam M, Hossein A (2020) A lightweight key management protocol for secure communication in smart grids. Electr Power Syst Res 178:106024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Abbasinezhad-Mood D, Nikooghadam M (2018) An anonymous ECC-based self-certified key distribution scheme for the smart grid. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 65(10):7996–8004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chen J, Shi J, Zhang Y (2015) EPPDC: an efficient privacy-preserving scheme for data collection in smart grid. Int J Distrib Sens Netw 11(5):1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Baghestani SH, Moazami F, Tahavori M (2022) Lightweight authenticated key agreement for smart metering in smart grid. IEEE Syst J 16(3):4983–4991

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Salem F, Ibrahim E, Elghandour O (2020) A lightweight authenticated key establishment scheme for secure smart grid communications. Int J Saf Secur Eng 10(4):549–558

    Google Scholar 

  22. Gowda NC, BharathiMalakreddy A (2023) BPCPR-FC: blockchain-based privacy preservation with confidentiality using proxy reencryption and ring signature in fog computing environments. Int J Inf Tecnol 15:3343–3357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-023-01373-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Khan AA, Kumar V, Ahmad M (2022) An elliptic curve cryptography based mutual authentication scheme for smart grid communications using biometric approach. J King Saud Univ Comput Inf Sci 34:698–705

    Google Scholar 

  24. Pati RY, Patil YH, Kachhoria R, Lonare S (2022) A provably secure data sharing scheme for smart gas distribution grid using fog computing. Int J Inf Tecnol 14(6):2927–2939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-022-01043-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Doh I, Lim J, Chae K (2015) Secure authentication for structured smart grid system. In: Proceedings of the international conference on innovative mobile and internet services in ubiquitous computing (IMIS’15), pp 200–204

  26. Saxena N, Choi BJ, Lu R (2016) Authentication and authorization scheme for various user roles and devices in smart grid. IEEE Trans Inf Forensics Secur 11:907–921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Ming Y, Zhang X, Shen X (2019) Efficient privacy-preserving multi-dimensional data aggregation scheme in smart grid. IEEE Access 7:32907–32921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Wang C, Huo P, Ma M et al (2023) A provable secure and lightweight ECC-based authenticated key agreement scheme for edge computing infrastructure in smart grid. Computing 105:2511–2537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00607-023-01188-4

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  29. Wazid M, Das AK, Kumar N, Rodrigues JPC (2017) Secure three-factor user authentication scheme for renewable energy based smart grid environment. IEEE Trans Ind Inform 13:3144–3153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Irshad A, Chaudhry SA, Alazab M, Kanwal A, Zia MS, Zikria YB (2021) A secure demand response management authentication scheme for smart grid. Sustain Energy Technol Assess 48:101571

    Google Scholar 

  31. Garg S, Kaur K, Kaddoum G, Rodrigues JJPC, Guizani M (2020) Secure and lightweight authentication scheme for smart metering infrastructure in smart grid. IEEE Trans Ind Inf 16:3548–3557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Chaudhry SA, Yahya K, Garg S, Kaddoum G, Hassan M, Zikria YB (2023) LAS-SG: an elliptic curve based lightweight authentication scheme for smart grid environments. IEEE Trans Ind Inf 19(2):1504–1511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Kumar N, Mishra VM, Kumar A (2020) Smart grid security with AES hardware chip. Int J Inf Tecnol 12:49–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-018-0123-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Singhal D, Ahuja L, Seth A (2023) POSMETER: proof-of-stake blockchain for enhanced smart meter data security. Int J Inf Tecnol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-023-01653-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Weaver K (2014) A perspective on how smart meters invade individual privacy. Sky Vision Solution Press, Hoboken. Available online: https://skyvisionsolutions.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/utility-smart-meters-invade-privacy-22-aug-2014.pdf. Accessed on 14 Nov 2023

  36. Chen CM et al (2021) Lightweight authentication protocol in edge-based smart grid environment. EURASIP J Wirel Commun Netw 21(1):1–18

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Publication fees is funded by Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, Helwan University, 1 Sherif St., Helwan, Cairo, Egypt

    Fatty M. Salem, Reham Khairy & Ihab A. Ali

Authors
  1. Fatty M. Salem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Reham Khairy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ihab A. Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fatty M. Salem.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have a conflict of interest. The authors declare that there are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Salem, F.M., Khairy, R. & Ali, I.A. An elliptic curve-based lightweight mutual authentication scheme for secure communication in smart grids. Int. j. inf. tecnol. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-024-01813-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-024-01813-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation