Innovative Integration of GBA and Hybrid TESLA for Securing IoT Authentication in 5G and 6G Networks
Khouloud Eledlebi, David J. Khoury, Samir Haddad, Patrick Sondi, Hyeran Mun, Kassem Danach, Jinane Sayah, Ernesto Damiani, Chan Yeob Yeun · IEEE Access · 2025
This paper presents a novel enhancement in the Hybrid TESLA protocol, integrating the Generic Bootstrapping Architecture (GBA) to replace public-key cryptography in the synchronization phase. The proposed protocol securely establishes communication between IoT devices and application servers without transmitting sensitive credentials over the network by leveraging GBA’s symmetric encryption and session key generation. Utilizing the existing mobile network infrastructure, GBA ensures secure authentication, making the protocol highly suitable for resource-constrained IoT environments. A simulation analysis conducted using Java demonstrated successful synchronization between clients and servers, with previous GBA experimental results confirming the protocol’s efficiency in terms of authentication time and power consumption. The Hybrid TESLA protocol’s use of SHA-2 and SHA-3 hashing functions ensures minimal computational demands while maintaining robust cybersecurity. This integration expands Hybrid TESLA’s utility in metaverse environments, enabling secure, seamless interactions across mobile networks.