Open Access

ARTICLE

EARAS: An Efficient, Anonymous, and Robust Authentication Scheme for Smart Homes

Muntaham Inaam Hashmi¹, Muhammad Ayaz Khan², Khwaja Mansoor ul Hassan¹, Suliman A. Alsuhibany^3,*, Ainur Abduvalova⁴, Asfandyar Khan⁵

1 Department of Cybersecurity, Air University Islamabad, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
2 Department of Computer Science, Air University Islamabad, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
3 Department of Computer Science, College of Computer, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51452, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Information Systems, Taraz University named after M.Kh.Dulaty, Taraz, 080000, Kazakhstan
5 Institute of Computer Science and IT, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Peshawar, 25130, Pakistan

* Corresponding Author: Suliman A. Alsuhibany. Email:

Computers, Materials & Continua 2026, 86(3), 30 https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2025.071452

Received 05 August 2025; Accepted 29 September 2025; Issue published 12 January 2026

Abstract

Cyber-criminals target smart connected devices for spyware distribution and security breaches, but existing Internet of Things (IoT) security standards are insufficient. Major IoT industry players prioritize market share over security, leading to insecure smart products. Traditional host-based protection solutions are less effective due to limited resources. Overcoming these challenges and enhancing the security of IoT Devices requires a security design at the network level that uses lightweight cryptographic parameters. In order to handle control, administration, and security concerns in traditional networking, the Gateway Node offers a contemporary networking architecture. By managing all network-level computations and complexity, the Gateway Node relieves IoT devices of these responsibilities. In this study, we introduce a novel privacy-preserving security architecture for gateway-node smart homes. Subsequently, we develop Smart Homes, An Efficient, Anonymous, and Robust Authentication Scheme (EARAS) based on the foundational principles of this security architecture. Furthermore, we formally examine the security characteristics of our suggested protocol that makes use of methodology such as ProVerif, supplemented by an informal analysis of security. Lastly, we conduct performance evaluations and comparative analyses to assess the efficacy of our scheme. Performance analysis shows that EARAS achieves up to 30% to 54% more efficient than most protocols and lower computation cost compared to Banerjee et al.’s scheme, and significantly reduces communication overhead compared to other recent protocols, while ensuring comprehensive security. Our objective is to provide robust security measures for smart homes while addressing resource constraints and preserving user privacy.

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Keywords

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