SECURE: Secure and Efficient Protocol Using Randomness and Edge-Computing for Drone-Assisted Internet of Vehicles

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) faces significant challenges related to secure authentication, efficient communication, and privacy preservation due to the high mobility of vehicles, the need for real-time data processing, varying quality of communication links, and the diverse range of devices and protocols requiring interoperability. These challenges are further complicated by the large-scale, dynamic, and heterogeneous nature of IoV systems. Traditional approaches using Road Side Connecting Nodes (RSCNs) face challenges like limited range, high costs, and single points of failure. Drone-assisted IoV (DIoV) networks address these issues by using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as mobile edge nodes, enhancing connectivity, extending coverage, and improving adaptability and resilience. To address these challenges, we propose SECURE, a drone-assisted, Physically Unclonable Function (PUF)-based authentication and privacy-preserving protocol integrated with edge computing. This architectur...