Exploiting Smart Contracts for Capability-Based Access Control in the Internet of Things

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity
• Blockchain Technology

Background:

• The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices necessitates robust security measures against unauthorized access.
• Traditional access control methods struggle with the distributed and untrusted nature of IoT environments.
• Capability-Based Access Control (CapBAC) offers a promising solution for managing access rights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a decentralized and trustworthy CapBAC scheme for IoT systems.
• To leverage Ethereum smart contract technology for secure and efficient access control.
• To enhance fine-grained control and flexibility in capability delegation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a CapBAC scheme utilizing Ethereum smart contracts, with each object having a dedicated smart contract.
• Implemented a token management system based on access rights/actions rather than subjects.
• Deployed and tested the scheme on a private Ethereum blockchain network.

Main Results:

• The proposed CapBAC scheme demonstrates feasibility and effectiveness in a simulated IoT environment.
• The scheme achieves more fine-grained and flexible capability delegation compared to subject-unit management.
• Performance comparison shows comparable monetary cost to existing schemes (BlendCAC) with superior flexibility, granularity, and consistency.

Conclusions:

• The novel CapBAC scheme provides a decentralized, trustworthy, and flexible access control solution for IoT.
• Smart contract-based token management offers significant advantages for IoT security.
• The proposed approach enhances security and usability in distributed IoT ecosystems.