AFAPS: An Efficient ECC-Based Authentication Framework for Autonomous Airdrop Parachute Systems

Airdrops with autonomous ram-air type parachutes are increasingly important in today’s unconventional warfare conjuncture and humanitarian aid operations. However, there are fundamental issues to be considered by operators or decision makers as to its utilization in the theatre. It is inevitable that new threats will arise with the increase in technology. Therefore, cyber defense elements for air supply should be secured for guided parachute systems that have the ability to glide through long distances. Some of these implied cyber-attacks could target sensitive information (identity, location, etc.) carried by guided parachutes, which are basically unmanned aerial vehicles, and deviate the system by taking over the routing control. The capture of flight information could lead to the disclosure of such covert operations, or at least lead to unexpected complications such as unauthorized airspace violations. Due to various adverse situations that may occur, ensuring the cybersecurity of the parachute payload system both in flight and on the ground has always been an important research topic. In this study, the concept of information replenishment with autonomous parachute systems is introduced to the literature and the cybersecurity of the system is detailed. Specifically, an efficient, lightweight, and pairing-free Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)-based authentication scheme is proposed to secure the system. Considering the resource-constrained nature of autonomous parachute platforms, the proposed scheme is designed to ensure robust security with minimal computational and communication overheads. Furthermore, a security evaluation of the proposed scheme is performed. Although ECC-based authentication protocols have been widely investigated for UAV and IoT systems, this study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to adapt a lightweight authentication framework to the cybersecurity requirements of autonomous ram-air parachute systems.