Privacy-Aware Authenticated Key Agreement Scheme for Secure Smart Grid Communication

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are one of the underpinning platforms of smart grids, facilitating efficient grid management and operation, optimization of resource utilization, as well as enabling new products, features, and services. However, this interconnection of grid technology with ICT leads to various security challenges in the power grid. One such concern is the tampering of usage data from smart meters which may result not only in incorrect billing, but also in incorrect decisions related to demand and supply management. In addition to network based cyber attacks, smart meters are also susceptible to physical attacks since they are installed in customer premises without hardware protection mechanisms. In this paper, we propose a novel privacy-aware authenticated key agreement scheme which can not only ensure secure communication between smart meters and the service providers, but also the physical security of smart meters. In this regard, we utilize the lightweight cryptographic primitives such as physically uncloneable functions and one-way hash function, etc. Hence, the proposed scheme is even suitable for the resource constrained smart meters.