International Research Journal of Education and Technology

With the growth of IoT networks, secure authentication is becoming increasingly important, especially in resource-limited environments. Traditional cryptographic methods rely on stored keys, which are vulnerable to physical attacks. This project proposes a hardware-based authentication system using Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs), which generate unique, device-specific keys, eliminating the need for externally stored secrets. The system integrates homomorphic encryption to ensure data confidentiality while allowing computations on encrypted data. Authentication uses a challenge-response mechanism, with the server verifying the device's identity using PUF-generated responses. To ensure reliability despite environmental factors, an error correction unit is included. Additionally, a dynamic key management system periodically refreshes keys to prevent replay and side-channel attacks. The architecture consists of PUF-enabled IoT devices, a central authentication server, and a secure communication channel using lightweight cryptographic protocols. Prototyping with FPGA or ASIC, real-time IoT testing, and optimization for low-power applications will be conducted. Performance will be evaluated based on authentication speed, security, and scalability, aiming to develop a robust and tamper-resistant solution for IoT and critical infrastructure applications.

Key Words: Cryptographic Keys, Homomorphic Encryption, Dynamic Key Management, Side-Channel Attacks, Challenge-Response Mechanism, Tamper-Resistant Solution