Citation

Baidya, Bodhisattwa and Das, Gourab and Khan, Inam Ullah and Mondal, Atanu and Alam, Muhammad Mansoor and Mohd Su'ud, Mazliham and Kaushik, Keshav (2026) Decentralized SecureSky: a hybrid blockchain-IPFS framework for secure and scalable UAV traffic management. PeerJ Computer Science, 12. e3599. ISSN 2376-5992

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Abstract

The rapid expansion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban airspaces necessitates innovative, safe, and scalable solutions for identification, tracking, and airspace management. Dispersed SecureSky introduces a novel hybrid blockchain-IPFS architecture for Remote Identification, featuring AES-256 encryption and SHA-256 hashing with collision resistance, where the birthday bound for collision discovery is roughly 2128 attempts. This architecture utilizes the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) to ensure data security, integrity, and decentralization, effectively mitigating the vulnerabilities of centralized systems. The MATLAB simulation models an urban airspace of 1 km2 , incorporating five UAVs with differing authorization statuses to evaluate real-world scenarios. The framework employs Haversine-based localization for precise positioning within a 1,000-m radius of the ground control station, dynamic no-fly zones updated every 30 s for compliance, and a real-time 2D visualization interface with color-coded status indicators to enhance operator oversight. SecureSky achieves exceptional efficiency, with a storage cost of 1,344 bits per telemetry record and an observed mean IPFS latency of 320 ms (SD 134 ms, 95% CI [293.4–346.6] ms, error margin ±26.6 ms) across 100 simulation trials under baseline conditions. Stress tests indicate a variance of up to ±50 ms at 50 UAVs under realistic network conditions, while its architecture supports linear scalability for high-density operations. It demonstrates robust resilience against cyber threats, including Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks, database tampering, identity spoofing, and replay assaults. SecureSky creates a groundbreaking framework for urban air mobility, enabling revolutionary applications like drone delivery with exceptional security, scalability, and compliance with regulations, thereby shaping the future of urban airspace management.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cyber security, urban air mobility
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA71-90 Instruments and machines > QA75.5-76.95 Electronic computers. Computer science
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing and Informatics (FCI)
Depositing User:	Ms Rosnani Abd Wahab
Date Deposited:	04 May 2026 02:52
Last Modified:	07 May 2026 08:15
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/15840

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