A traceable authentication system based on blockchain for decentralized physical infrastructure networks.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity
• Blockchain Technology

Background:

• Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) facilitate resource sharing but introduce risks from malicious actors evading accountability through account switching.
• Existing authentication and traceability solutions for DePIN are limited by scalability, cost, and privacy concerns, making them unsuitable for large-scale deployments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel traceable authentication system for DePIN environments.
• To address the limitations of current systems in scalability, cost-effectiveness, and user privacy.
• To enable secure and accountable resource sharing within DePIN.

Main Methods:

• Integration of government public key infrastructure (PKI) with blockchain technology.
• Utilization of government-issued electronic identity cards for generating digital signatures.
• Employment of smart contracts for automated authentication and retrieval of results by Physical Infrastructure (PI) devices.
• Leveraging immutable blockchain logs for real-world identity traceability.

Main Results:

• The proposed system reduces authentication costs by up to 40%.
• High throughput is achieved using both RSA and ECDSA cryptographic algorithms.
• Demonstrates enhanced scalability for DePIN authentication.

Conclusions:

• The integrated system effectively enhances security and accountability in DePIN.
• It offers a scalable, cost-efficient, and privacy-preserving solution for authentication.
• The system enables reliable real-world traceability of users within DePIN environments.