Authentication and key agreement scheme based on PUF and Chebyshev chaotic map for blockchain-enabled UAV networks

Abstract Aiming at the security issues of open channel vulnerability, limited node resources, and single-point failure caused by centralized authentication in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm networks, this paper proposes an authentication and key agreement scheme integrating Physical Unclonable Function (PUF), Chebyshev chaotic map and blockchain. The scheme constructs an integrated architecture of physical security, lightweight encryption and distributed trust, which supports mutual authentication in dual scenarios of UAV-Ground Control Station (GCS) and UAV-UAV. Decentralized trusted authentication is realized via blockchain and smart contracts, ensuring that authentication information is tamper-proof and traceable. Formal security verification based on the ROR model and informal analysis demonstrate that the proposed scheme satisfies multiple security requirements including anonymity and forward secrecy, and can resist common attacks such as replay attack, man-in-the-middle attack and physical capture attack. Performance evaluation results indicate that the scheme completes authentication with only two rounds of interaction. Its computational and communication overheads are significantly lower than those of existing schemes, making it suitable for resource-constrained UAV swarms.