Elliptic Curve-Based Query Authentication Protocol for IoT Devices Aided by Blockchain.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Cryptography
• Network Security

Background:

• The proliferation of Internet-on-Things (IoT) devices necessitates robust authentication mechanisms.
• IoT devices often have limited computational power, posing challenges for traditional security protocols.
• Ensuring the authenticity of IoT devices is critical before data transmission to storage servers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a lightweight and secure authentication mechanism for IoT devices.
• To leverage elliptic curve cryptography and blockchain for enhanced IoT security.
• To address the computational constraints of IoT devices in authentication processes.

Main Methods:

• Developed an authentication mechanism based on elliptic curve cryptography.
• Integrated a blockchain network for device identity verification.
• Implemented the system on a MSP430F1611 microcontroller and MICAz sensor for performance analysis.

Main Results:

• The proposed mechanism provides a low computational cost for authentication.
• The system is secure against common IoT-specific attacks.
• Authentication queries are completed in under one second on tested hardware.

Conclusions:

• The elliptic curve and blockchain-based authentication is a viable solution for resource-constrained IoT devices.
• The proposed method enhances the security and reliability of IoT data transmission.
• This approach offers a secure and efficient alternative to existing IoT authentication methods.