Securing communications

1. A method for securing communications between a publisher and a subscriber, comprising:

receiving a challenge vector from the subscriber;

determining a response vector using a physically unclonable function (PUF) for each challenge value in the challenge vector to generate a response value;

sending the response vector to the subscriber;

generating a random number;

using the random number to generate a false PUF value;

interspersing the false PUF value with a collected data value; and

obscuring the collected data value by sending false data and authentic data in a data stream sent to the subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising storing each challenge value in the challenge vector associated with the response value received from the publisher.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

collecting a data value from a sensor;

determining an identification value, comprising a value for a pseudorandom number function, wherein a response value from the response vector and the data value are used as seeds for the pseudorandom number function; and

sending the data value and the identification value to the subscriber.

4. The method of claim 3 , comprising:

receiving the data value and the identification value from the publisher;

determining a comparison value, comprising a value for a pseudorandom number function, wherein a stored response value and the data value are used as seeds for the pseudorandom number function; and

comparing the comparison value to the identification value to confirm an identity of the publisher.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

collecting a data matrix comprising data from a sensor;

calculating a two-dimensional matrix comprising a pseudorandom number determined using each value of the response vector and each data point of the data matrix as a seed value;

sending the data matrix to the subscriber; and

sending the two-dimensional matrix to the subscriber.

6. The method of claim 5 , comprising:

receiving the data matrix from the publisher;

receiving the two-dimensional matrix from the publisher;

calculating a comparison matrix using the response vector stored by the subscriber and the data matrix from the publisher as seed values for a pseudorandom number function; and

comparing the two-dimensional matrix to the comparison matrix to confirm an identity of the publisher.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

quantizing a range for measured values of data to form a plurality of buckets;

generating a quantized challenge vector for each of the plurality of buckets; and

generating a quantized response vector for each of the plurality of buckets using the PUF.

8. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

collecting a data value from a sensor;

determining which bucket of the plurality of buckets the data value falls within;

selecting the quantized response vector for the bucket;

determining an identification value, comprising a value for a pseudorandom number function, wherein a response value from the quantized response vector for the bucket and the data value are used as seeds for the pseudorandom number function; and

sending the data value and the identification value to the subscriber.

9. The method of claim 8 , comprising:

receiving the data value and the identification value from the publisher;

determining which buckets of the plurality of buckets the data value falls within;

selecting a stored response value for the bucket;

determining a comparison value, by using the data value and the stored response value as seeds for a pseudorandom number function; and

comparing the identification value to the comparison value to confirm an identity of the publisher.

10. The method of claim 1 comprising:

receiving a data stream comprising a plurality of values from a publisher; and

determining if a value in the plurality of values is generated using a false PUF value.

11. The method of claim 1 , comprising generating a Bayesian model from the response vector, wherein the Bayesian model comprises a probability density function to predict an environmental context that the publisher is operating within, wherein the environmental context comprises temperature, humidity, magnetic fields, or external sensor values, or any combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining a probability density function for the response vector at an expected environmental context;

estimating a percentage that a system will be operational within the expected environmental context; and

determine a probability density function for the response vector at possible environmental contexts.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein each corresponding challenge value and response value comprise a shared secret between the publisher and the subscriber to exchange data in a secure manner between the publisher and the subscriber.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the challenge values are indexed across a possible range of measured values of the collected data.

15. The method of claim 1 , comprising detecting an anomaly using the response values to determine if physical context differs from an authorized or expected context.

16. An apparatus including a publisher to secure communications, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver to receive a challenge vector from a subscriber;

a physically unclonable function (PUF) to determine a response vector by generating a response value for each challenge value in the challenge vector;

a random number generator to generate a random number and to use the random number to generate a false PUF value;

a chaffing generator to intersperse the false PUF value with a collected data value; and

the transceiver to send the response vector to the subscriber, and the transceiver to obscure the collected data value by sending false data and authentic data in a data stream sent to the subscriber.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein each corresponding challenge value and response value comprise a shared secret between the publisher and the subscriber to exchange data in a secure manner between the publisher and the subscriber.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the challenge values are indexed across a possible range of measured values of the collected data.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , the physically unclonable function (PUF) to detect an anomaly using the response values to determine if physical context differs from an authorized or expected context.

20. A non-transitory, machine readable medium, comprising code that, when executed, directs a processor to:

receive at a publisher a challenge vector from a subscriber;

determine a response vector using a physically unclonable function (PUF) for each challenge value in the challenge vector to generate a response value;

send the response vector to the subscriber;

generate a random number;

use the random number to generate a false PUF value;

intersperse the false PUF value with a collected data value; and

obscure the collected data value by sending false data and authentic data in a data stream sent to the subscriber.

21. The non-transitory, machine readable medium of claim 20 , wherein each corresponding challenge value and response value comprise a shared secret between the publisher and the subscriber to exchange data in a secure manner between the publisher and the subscriber.

22. The non-transitory, machine readable medium of claim 20 , wherein the challenge values are indexed across a possible range of measured values of the collected data.

23. The non-transitory, machine readable medium of claim 20 , comprising code that, when executed, directs the processor to detect an anomaly using the response values to determine if physical context differs from an authorized or expected context.