PUF-Based IoT Authentication and Selective Encryption

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Solution Overview

Problem

IoT devices often lack secure data transmission mechanisms, making them vulnerable to data interception and manipulation, particularly due to the lack of encryption and the potential for false data injection in IoT networks, which can lead to security issues and system damage.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of physically unclonable functions (PUFs) for device authentication and steganography techniques like chaffing and winnowing to obscure data streams, allowing constrained IoT devices to protect their communications without full encryption, while also confirming the physical context and authenticity of sensor data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If IoT devices implement full encryption for data transmission, then data security is improved, but device complexity and resource consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata securityVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the security mechanism into two parts: (1) PUF-based authentication for device identity verification, and (2) selective encryption only for sensitive data fields. This segmentation allows IoT devices to implement comprehensive security without requiring full encryption of all data streams, thereby reducing computational overhead and device complexity while maintaining data security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies encryption selectively to specific sensitive data fields rather than encrypting entire data streams. This local quality approach ensures that only critical information requiring confidentiality protection is encrypted, while other data can be transmitted in plaintext, thus balancing security requirements with resource constraints of IoT devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If IoT devices implement full encryption for data transmission, then data security is improved, but energy consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata securityVSAvoidenergy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the security mechanism into two parts: (1) PUF-based authentication for device identity verification, and (2) selective encryption only for sensitive data fields. This segmentation allows IoT devices to implement comprehensive security without requiring full encryption of all data streams, thereby reducing computational overhead and device complexity while maintaining data security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies encryption selectively to specific sensitive data fields rather than encrypting entire data streams. This local quality approach ensures that only critical information requiring confidentiality protection is encrypted, while other data can be transmitted in plaintext, thus balancing security requirements with resource constraints of IoT devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Device complexity

If IoT devices do not implement encryption, then device complexity is reduced, but vulnerability to data interception increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice complexityVSAvoidvulnerability to data interception
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements PUF-based authentication as a preliminary action before data transmission. The PUF device generates unique cryptographic credentials during manufacturing that are used to authenticate device identity and establish secure communication channels beforehand. This preliminary authentication mechanism protects against data interception without requiring complex real-time encryption processing during data transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Device complexity

If IoT devices do not implement authentication mechanisms, then device complexity is reduced, but susceptibility to false data injection increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice complexityVSAvoidsusceptibility to false data injection
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements PUF-based authentication as a preliminary action before data transmission. The PUF device generates unique cryptographic credentials during manufacturing that are used to authenticate device identity and establish secure communication channels beforehand. This preliminary authentication mechanism protects against data interception without requiring complex real-time encryption processing during data transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11729006B2Securing communications
Publication Date: 2023.08.15 INTEL CORP
  • US11729006B2 patent drawing
  • US11729006B2 patent drawing
  • US11729006B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method for securing the communications between a publisher and a subscriber in an Internet of things networks. An example method includes receiving a challenge vector from a subscriber and determining a response vector using a physically unclonable function (PUF) for each challenge value in the challenge vector to generate a response value. The response vector it is sent to the subscriber.