Security Authentication Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks Based on NTRU

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) have a wide range of applications, where issues related to data authentication and communication are critical for enhancing underwater resource utilization and ensuring secure data transmission. Sensor nodes face resource limitations and the threat of quantum computing attacks, making it challenging for traditional authentication protocols to balance security and computational efficiency. By employing the Number Theory Research Unit (NTRU) encryption scheme and incorporating Generalized One-Time Pad (GOTP) key encapsulation along with a node mobility model under ocean current environments, we propose a two-round mutual authentication protocol, named the NTRU-GOTP and Position-aware Authentication Protocol (NTRU-GOPA), to verify location information and enhance security. We verify the protocol’s security using the random oracle model and analyze it through informal methods. Preliminary experiments demonstrate that the proposed protocol is more secure and computationally efficient than existing methods. This method satisfies the requirements for defending against node capture and external network attacks, thereby making it suitable for complex and dynamic underwater network scenarios.