Secure, Robust, and Energy-Efficient Authenticated Data Sharing in UAV-Assisted 6G Networks

This paper confronts the pressing challenges of sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication networks by harnessing the unique capabilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). With the ambitious promises of 6G, including ultra-reliable 1 Tbps data delivery and ultra-low latency, the demand for innovative solutions becomes imperative. Traditional terrestrial base stations, though effective, exhibit limitations in scenarios requiring ubiquitous connectivity, prompting the integration of UAVs. In response to these challenges, we introduce a comprehensive solution. This involves UAVs collaboratively downloading desired content from service providers, and subsequently establishing secure connections with users for efficient content exchange. Accordingly, we introduce two new protocols: a collaborative group data downloading scheme among UAVs called SeGDS, and SeDDS for secure direct data sharing through out-of-band autonomous Device-to-Device (D2D) communication. Leveraging certificateless signcryption and certificateless multi-receiver encryption, these protocols offer lightweight, certificate-free solutions with features such as user revocation, non-repudiation, and mutual authentication. Prioritizing high availability, the proposed protocols effectively detect Denial of Service (DoS) and free riding attacks. A thorough evaluation underscores the superiority of the proposed protocols in both security and efficiency over existing models; SeDDS reduces overall computation by 3x, imposing a lighter communication load on UAVs, while SeGDS meets swarm UAV security requirements, reducing communication costs by 4x with low computation cost.