A Secure Message Authentication Method in the Internet of Vehicles Using Cloud-Edge-Client Architecture

With the rapid deployment of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has become an increasingly vital component in the development of smart cities. However, the openness of IoV also gives rise to critical issues such as message security and identity privacy. Consequently, addressing message authentication in the IoV environment is a fundamental requirement for ensuring its sustainable and stable evolution. Firstly, this paper proposes an adaptive traffic authentication strategy (ATAS) By integrating traffic flow dynamics evaluation, traffic status scoring, time sensitivity assessment, and comprehensive strategy decision-making, the scheme achieves an effective balance between authentication efficiency and security in IoV scenarios. Secondly, to tackle the high overhead and security issues caused by multiple message transmissions in large-scale IoV application scenarios, this paper proposes a secure message transmission and authentication method based on the cloud-edge-client collaborative architecture. Leveraging aggregate message authentication code (AMAC) technology, this method validates both the authenticity and integrity of messages, effectively reducing communication overhead while maintaining reliable authenticated transmission. Finally, this paper builds an IoV co-simulation experimental environment using the SUMO 1.19.0, OMNeT++ 6.0.3, and Veins 5.0.0 software platforms. It simulates the interactive authentication process among vehicles, Road Side Units (RSUs), and the cloud platform, as well as the effects of traffic response strategies under different scenarios. The results demonstrate the potential of IoV authentication technology in improving traffic management efficiency, optimizing road resource utilization, and enhancing traffic safety, providing strong support for the secure communication and efficient management of IoV.