QSVP: A Quantum Safe Mutual Authentication Protocol for Vehicular Platoon Communications

Vehicular platoons can transform the way we travel and have the potential to shape the future of mobility. To realize the full potential of vehicular platoons, vehicular platoon communication should be resilient to cyber-attacks including conventional and future quantum-computerenabled attacks. In this paper, we propose a quantum-safe mutual authentication protocol for vehicular platoon communications, QSVP, leveraging the concepts of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism (PQKEM). The PQKEM used in QSVP is CRYSTALS-Kyber, a lattice-based PQKEM, selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in round 3 of the post-quantum standardization process. Using the Real-or-Random (RoR) model, we demonstrate that QSVP offers provable security. Further, we evaluate the performance of QSVP using simulations carried out with the NS3 simulator. A performance analysis of QSVP demonstrates its superior security features and scalability compared to other similar schemes.