Post-Quantum Authentication Against Cyber-Physical Attacks in V2X-Based Autonomous Vehicle Platoon

In this paper, we propose a platoon access authentication system for initial access process in autonomous vehicle platoons (AVPs) in which post-quantum encryption and signal processing techniques are employed to protect against both active and passive cyber-physical attacks. To avoid passive quantum cyber attacks, a quasi-cyclic moderate-density parity-check code is used to encode and decode AVP messages. Moreover, an independent component analysis-based signal separation technique is employed to eliminate the effect of high-power active cyber attacks on AVP messages. To measure the reliability of the system, we derive an analytical expression for the system failure probability, taking into account the influence of both the cyber and physical planes. The simulations show that the proposed system is effective against attacks and can help reduce system failures caused by intentional and unintentional adverse cyber-physical effects. The proposed system offers a potential solution to the challenge of protecting initial access while maintaining ultra-reliable low-latency communications between AVPs and the infrastructure.