RAMA: Real-Time Automobile Mutual Authentication Protocol Using PUF

Abstract

The batteries of electric vehicles enable the functionality of V2G networks. The purpose of V2G is to handle the trading of energy for electric vehicles powered by batteries as well as the power grid. This is essential to make more efficient use of the energy of the grid. The electrical energy stored in the EV batteries can function as a power source for the grid and other energy-deficient EVs. The energy stored in the batteries of the EVs could be used to pump power into the grid when the load on the grid is too heavy. Despite its wide-ranging applications, the privacy and safety of intelligent grids continue to be a severe problem. Any protocol designed for V2G applications must be safe, lightweight, and safeguard the car owner's privacy. As individuals usually do not guard EVs and charging stations, physical security is also a must. To address these issues, we are proposing a Real-time Automotive Mutual Authentication protocol for V2G devices based on Physical Unclonable Functions (PUF). PUFs are used by the proposed protocol to obtain a two-step mutual authentication (MA) between an EV and the Grid Server. It is lightweight, safe, and preserves privacy.