PUF Assisted Public-Key Based Authentication Using Blockchain for the IoT

Abstract

In the IoT, authentication, confidentiality and integrity are the three most important criteria that need to be satisfied. Authentication ensures that a device can be trusted in the network, as well as its data. Without authentication, there is no way to know whether data is received from a legitimate device or a malicious device. This paper introduces a pioneering PUF-based device authentication solution for IoT systems using blockchain technology. In this research, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is assisted by a physically unclonable function (PUF) to ensure that only legitimate devices access the network; the devices are connected in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network based on the blockchain. Confidentiality ensures that data is shared only with the intended party. For this purpose, an encrypted secure communication channel is established by sharing a secret key between the communicating parties. In addition, the hash-based data structure of the Merkle tree is used for validating the integrity of the data between nodes. The proposed approach significantly enhances the security, privacy, and trustworthiness of information exchange within the IoT network. As a result, authentication, confidentiality and integrity are ensured before communication is conducted in the IoT environment.