Unlocking Internet of Things Security: Blockchain Authentication Breakthroughs

Abstract

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has created substantial security weaknesses, primarily because of low computing resources and mismanagement of centralized security technologies. This research provides a lightweight mutual authentication protocol using Blockchain technology throughout the entire life cycle of an IoT device. Specifically, the BLoC-IoT Auth protocol integrates Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) for device identification, Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to ensure data privacy, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for operational efficiency  and Hyperledger Fabric as the underlying architecture to accomplish decentralization.

The BLoC-IoT Auth protocol consists of three phases: Registration, Authentication and Key Agreement. Constructing the phases this way allows for anonymity, unlinkability, and forward secrecy without relying on any trusted third party entity. Simulation results produced using the NS-3 simulator (with up to 5000 devices) and real world implementations of ESP32 devices demonstrate latency of 15.7ms (45% improvement over the Yavari protocol), energy usage of 8.2µJ (32% savings compared to BAMA) and zero successful attacks against replay, man in the middle  or Sybil attack scenarios. The robustness of the BLoC-IoT Auth protocol is confirmed through verification using Scyther.

The protocol significantly outperforms other L2AI based approaches and traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) authentication, making it adaptable for future smart cities, healthcare facilities and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployments. Additionally the research provides a practical means to protect large scale integrations of IoT devices through the use of Blockchain technology and the addressable needs of global ecosystems.