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Lecture notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

Dynamic Ephemeral and Session Key Generation Protocol for Next Generation Smart Grids

Vincent Omollo Nyangaresi, Zaid Ameen Abduljabbar, Mustafa A. Al Sibahee, Enas Wahab Abood, Iman Qays Abduljaleel

Published Jan 1, 2022• 13 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-98005-4_14

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The increasing complexity of the smart grid raises significant concerns regarding the security of smart grid communication. As a countermeasure, authentication and key agreement (AKA) protocol ensures the secure transmission of sensitive information between legitimate entities by achieving mutual authentication and establishing session keys. One of the most urgent and critical security threats in AKA protocol concerns ephemeral secret leakage (ESL) attack, due to its threat to session key secrecy. However, there remains a lack of systematic understanding of how to resist ESL attacks in smart grid environment. Therefore, we categorize the ESL attack into three different types, then conduct an in-depth analysis of their root causes and propose corresponding recommendations to mitigate it. To further illustrate the effectiveness of the recommendations, we design a secure and efficient AKA protocol based on elliptic curve cryptography accordingly. The proposed protocol is proven secure through rigorous security proof under the random oracle model and formally verified by AVISPA tool. Performance comparisons indicate that the proposed protocol outperforms other related protocols due to its lightweight nature and adherence to all fundamental security attributes, making it well-suited for deployment in resource-constrained smart grid environment.
The evolution of smart grids necessitates the deployment of highly secure communication protocols, particularly for critical infrastructure such as Distribution Ring Network Cabinets (RMUs). In this work, we present an integrated cryptographic framework that combines Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) with an SM2-based SPEKE protocol to establish a resilient end-to-end secure communication channel. Initially, QKD is employed—using, for instance, the BB84 protocol—to generate a quantum key with information-theoretic security guar- antees. In parallel, an SM2-enhanced SPEKE protocol is used to perform mutual authentication through elliptic curve-based ephemeral key exchange and identity binding, thereby deriving an authentication key. These two independent keys are then combined with a randomly generated salt via a HMAC-based Key Derivation Function (HKDF) to derive a robust session key. The session key is subsequently utilized to secure data transmissions through symmetric encryption, effectively mitigating threats from eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle, replay, and side-channel attacks. Comprehensive theoretical analysis and preliminary evaluations suggest that our layered approach not only bridges quantum and classical cryptographic techniques but also meets the stringent security and performance requirements of modern power system communications. This work provides a promising pathway toward future-proofing secure communication in next-generation smart grids.
The smart grid is a network of computers and power infrastructures that monitor and manage energy usage and uses intelligent transmission and distribution networks to deliver electricity for improving the electric system's reliability and efficiency. With grid controls, energy transmission management could be enhanced and resilience to control-system failures would be increased. Although deploying the smart grid has numerous social and technical benefits, several security concerns arise. In 2012, Xia and Wang proposed a secure key distribution for the smart grid. They claimed their protocol is strong enough to defend against security attacks. In this paper, we investigate the security of Xia and Wang's protocol. More precisely, we show that once the smart meter generates a session key with the service provider, the smart meter could easily forge the new legitimate session key without the service provider's participation. In order to remedy the security flaw, we propose a simple and secure improvement of Xia and Wang's protocol. Our protocol is secure and fair to generate the session key between the smart meter and the service provider.