Authentication protocol for vehicular networks using Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Elliptic Curve Cryptography

With the rise of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), secure and efficient authentication is essential to prevent cyber threats. This paper proposes a session key establishment protocol using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (zk-SNARKs) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), including the Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH) key exchange, to ensure privacy and efficiency. While zk-SNARK computations introduce additional verification overhead, our optimizations, such as precomputed proof parameters and lightweight session re-authentication, mitigate delays. Performance evaluation shows a 20% reduction in computation overhead and a 75% faster re-authentication time compared to existing methods, making it a secure and practical solution for real-world IoV applications.