Recently, the proposed Cybertwin-driven 6G network architecture has attracted attentions from academia, which can support the communication anchor, security agent and other functions for physical devices. Especially, Cybertwin can provide promising Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) applications in future. However, security and privacy of Cybertwin still face various threats and challenges, which may impact future deployments for Cybertwin-driven 6G V2X. In this paper, we first introduce the architecture and promising applications of Cybertwin-driven 6G V2X. Then, we analyze essential data security and privacy preservation requirements for Cybertwin-driven 6G V2X. Particularly, we present the security reference architecture of Cybertwin-driven 6G V2X. As a case study, we investigate the migration of Cybertwin caused by vehicle mobility, and propose a handover authentication scheme to create new Cybertwin between vehicle and edge server based on proxy ring signature technique. Finally, we discuss several open research directions for achieving more secure Cybertwin-driven 6G V2X.

This article explores the optimal offloading strategy in the Internet of Vehicles (IoVs), which is challenged by three issues. First, the resources of edge servers are shared by multiple vehicles, leading to random changes over time. Second, as a vehicle would drive across consecutive edge servers, the offloading strategy needs to consider the overall edge resources along the trip. Third, at each vehicle, the computing tasks arrive continuously when driving. This dictates the offloading strategy to consider not only the current status but also the futuristic computing tasks. To tackle these issues, we propose a digital twin (DT) network framework. A DT network maintains DTs in the cyber-space to synchronize the real-world activities of vehicles. Therefore, task offloading decisions can be benefited by combining both the global information aggregated from neighbor twins and historical information uploaded by vehicles. With comprehensive information, the optimal offloading strategy can be determined. We characterize the offloading problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and develop an A3C-based decision-making algorithm, which can learn optimal offloading actions that minimize the long-term system costs. Extensive experiments demonstrate the performance of our proposal in terms of fast convergence and low system costs when compared with other approaches.

The smart city aims to enhance the efficacy of urban management and improve the quality of citizen life. This however faces a fundamental difficulty due to the inadequate data sharing among social entities, which has become one of the key barriers to the in-depth development of smart city, making wasted information resources and application silos ubiquitous. As an emerging communication paradigm, the digital twin network (DTN) has the potential to eliminate the data-sharing barrier in smart cities. By mapping the social physical entities (PEs) in the smart city to digital virtual agents, namely data twins (DTs), valuable data can be directly shared among the DTs over DTN without physical constraints, and form decisions that feedback and guide the operations of PEs. In this article, we explore the role of DTN in supporting the smart city and promoting data-sharing construction. We first introduce the basic concepts related to DTN and propose the architecture of DTN-enabled smart city. The key features of the DTN-enabled smart city are then discussed with an emphasis on the security and privacy issues with fundamental solutions around data sharing in the DTN-enabled smart city. As a case study, we investigate data sharing in the DTN-enabled smart city and design a secure and fair data-sharing mechanism. Finally, we propose open challenges for achieving a more reliable DTN-enabled smart city.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks offer a promising approach for achieving global coverage and high-speed Internet access. However, the existing communication frameworks within these networks may result in low robustness and reliability. This article introduces QTER, a novel and lightweight routing framework specifically designed for LEO networks, aimed at addressing these challenges. Our contributions are threefold. First, QTER establishes a cost-effective and reliable routing framework that accommodates a variety of applications with distinct Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. By enabling multipath routing, the framework minimizes costs while ensuring end-to-end reliability, thus enhancing adaptability to diverse service demands. Second, we leverage the unique structural characteristics of LEO satellite networks by modeling the satellite constellation as a 3-D network, wherein higher shell satellites serve as management satellite nodes (MSNs) to coordinate routing strategies among lower-shell satellites. This architecture significantly improves system efficiency and adaptability. Third, we propose a failure recovery mechanism that allows MSNs to relay packets when lower-orbit satellites are rendered unavailable due to environmental factors, thereby enhancing system robustness. Extensive simulations demonstrate that QTER exhibits resilience to node failures and dynamic network conditions, achieving reductions in average cost and delay by 59.4% and 38.9%, respectively, compared to baselines.

In recent years, electric vehicles with low cost and zero emission have been accepted and chosen by more and more people. In order to further shorten the charging time of electric vehicles, improve charging efficiency of electric vehicles and promote the development of green smart transportation, a new promising Energy Harvesting-Dynamic Wireless Charging (EH-DWC) system is currently much attracting extensive attention and research. EH-DWC system, on the one hand, can convert nature energy such as wind or solar nature energy into electricity energy by using energy harvesting technology, on the other hand, the system can directly provide charging service for the moving electric vehicle through wireless electromagnetic induction technology. However, during the charging process, since the electric vehicle and the EH-DWC need to communicate over an open wireless channel, it is inevitable to be attacked by some malicious, which can influence the charging process, privacy leakage or even property losses between the system and the electric vehicle. In this paper, we propose a lightweight secure management scheme for energy harvesting dynamic wireless charging system. The proposed scheme can achieve effective authentication, secure communication, privacy protection and reliable payment for the system. Moreover, considering that there are some weather that are not conducive to harvesting energy, the scheme divides the system into three different working states to ensure the safe operation. Finally, the security analysis and performance evolution prove our scheme is secure and efficient in the end of the paper.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are transforming global connectivity by enabling high-speed, low-latency Internet access. Particularly, they significantly facilitate areas where terrestrial networks are not deployed or destroyed. Meanwhile, LEO satellite technology is experiencing an unprecedented surge in development. This paper provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of LEO satellite networks. First, the evolution of LEO satellites is introduced, followed by an exploration of the components and communication architecture within LEO satellite networks using representative examples. Second, key technologies, including routing, handover management, and digital twins, are summarized, and some practical application scenarios are discussed. The performance of LEO satellite networks, illustrated by SpaceX’s Starlink, is then evaluated to understand its scheduling algorithm and network characteristics, which can inform future satellite-related algorithms and architecture design. Finally, as LEO constellations continue to expand, practical operations face significant challenges in management, technology, and security. Consequently, we highlight some open research issues to provide potential inspiration for academia and industry in satellite networking.