PUF-Certified Post-Quantum Self-Certified Keys for Vehicles and UAVs with Batch Verification

Ayub et al. (2025) demonstrate the value of PUFs to counter physical tampering and ESL in smart grids. Zhang et al. (2022) show self-certified public key cryptography with batch verification for vehicular networks, removing the need for an online CA during authentication. UAV schemes (e.g., Pramod Kumar et al., 2023) and blockchain-backed IoV designs (AAKE-BIVT, 2023) show the importance of scalable credential distribution and revocation. This idea fuses them: build a PQ self-certified credential system where device secrets are derived from on-chip PUFs and bound to lattice-based public keys/signatures (e.g., ML-DSA/SLH-DSA), enabling offline authentication with batch verification at RSUs or ground stations. Use a lightweight blockchain or transparency log to publish revocation proofs and pseudonym rotations, but keep per-session authentication and KEM entirely local. The novelty is the end-to-end, PQ, self-certified pipeline with PUF-backed uncloneability and batch-verifiable handshakes, minimizing online authority dependencies and resisting device capture. Impact: practical, privacy-preserving, and physically tamper-resistant AKE for safety-critical, bandwidth/compute-constrained mobility systems.

References:

1. Provably Secure Efficient Key-Exchange Protocol for Intelligent Supply Line Surveillance in Smart Grids. Muhammad Faizan Ayub, Xiong Li, Khalid Mahmood, Mohammed J. F. Alenazi, Ashok Kumar Das, Guijuan Wang (2025). IEEE Internet of Things Journal.
2. LBVP: A Lightweight Batch Verification Protocol for Fog-Based Vehicular Networks Using Self-Certified Public Key Cryptography. Xiaoyu Zhang, Hong Zhong, Jie Cui, I. Bolodurina, Lu Liu (2022). IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology.
3. Blockchain-Based Lightweight Authentication and Key Exchange Protocol For Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Dr Pramod Kumar, Mr. B .MOHANRAJ, Mukesh Soni, D. Y. P. Vidyapeeth, D. Y. Patil, R. Maranan, Haewon Byeon (2023). 2023 International Conference on New Frontiers in Communication, Automation, Management and Security (ICCAMS).
4. AAKE-BIVT: Anonymous Authenticated Key Exchange Scheme for Blockchain-Enabled Internet of Vehicles in Smart Transportation. Akhtar Badshah, Muhammad Waqas, Fazal Muhammad, G. Abbas, Z. Abbas, Shehzad Ashraf Chaudhry, Sheng Chen (2023). IEEE transactions on intelligent transportation systems (Print).