PUFs as Promising Tools for Security in Internet of Things

Abstract

The article has presented an overview on the promise of PUFs in providing much needed security in IoTs. We have discussed a security violation in the authentication of a commercial-lighting-based IoT, and argued that the use of PUFs as a hardware security primitive can provide a low-cost but secured mechanisThe article has presented an overview on the promise of PUFs in providing much needed security in IoTs. We have discussed a security violation in the authentication of a commercial-lighting-based IoT, and argued that the use of PUFs as a hardware security primitive can provide a low-cost but secured mechanism to subvert such attacks. However, there are several challenges which need to be considered: starting from making the PUF primitives secured against machine learning but yet lightweight, to develop protocols using them to prevent such machine-learning-based attacks. Case studies for a lightweight construction of PUFs (called LSPUF), attacks on it, and a protocol on PUFs, called SPUF, have been detailed to highlight these challenging constraints of PUF-based designs. Finally, a proof-of-concept testbed has been presented using commercially available tools to show how PUFs can be used to interact with other IoT nodes to provide overall security.m to subvert such attacks. However, there are several challenges which need to be considered: starting from making the PUF primitives secured against machine learning but yet lightweight, to develop protocols using them to prevent such machine-learning-based attacks. Case studies for a lightweight construction of PUFs (called LSPUF), attacks on it, and a protocol on PUFs, called SPUF, have been detailed to highlight these challenging constraints of PUF-based designs. Finally, a proof-of-concept testbed has been presented using commercially available tools to show how PUFs can be used to interact with other IoT nodes to provide overall security.