Comparative study of authentication protocols for the Internet of Drones (IoD)

The Internet of Drones (IoD) is an advanced architecture where interconnected drones communicate through intelligent networks to carry out complex operations collaboratively. Recently, IoD applications have grown in areas such as defense, healthcare, agriculture, and traffic monitoring. Drones use built-in computing and communication systems to collect and transmit real-time data. However, this connectivity exposes them to various security risks, particularly attacks on data transmitted through public networks. To address this problem, reliable authentication mechanisms is a promising solution to securing IoD operations. In this context, this paper provides a comparative analysis of recent advancements in IoD security and focuses on studying authentication challenges and solutions within IoT environments. This study examines the security requirements and identifies the challenges related to authentication mechanisms in the IoD. It highlights that the resilience of protocols against attacks, as well as their computational and communication costs, are are intrinsically linked to the relevant technologies on which they are built. The findings of this paper reveal the limitations of recent schemes and propose potential directions for future research.