Dynamic IoT Identity via Blockchain Transaction Validation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), such as IoT networks, devices face challenges with resource-intensive registration and authentication processes as they move between different networks, necessitating an efficient method for dynamic addressing and validation.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a blockchain-based validation system where IoT devices derive a dynamically-changing identity by combining a static address with a transaction number, enabling seamless registration and communication across multiple networks through fog routers, which validate and update the device identities within the blockchain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional registration and authentication mechanisms are used for each sensor network, then device security and network reliability are improved, but resource consumption increases and device mobility is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a universal registration mechanism where a single blockchain-based registration process enables devices to access multiple different sensor networks. The registration data stored on the blockchain serves multiple networks simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate registration processes for each network and thereby reducing resource consumption while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a blockchain as an intermediary system that mediates between devices and sensor networks. Instead of direct point-to-point registration, the blockchain validates and verifies device identities across networks, enabling secure multi-network access without requiring individual authentication processes for each network, thus reducing computational overhead and energy consumption.
2Reliability
If conventional registration and authentication mechanisms are used for each sensor network, then device security is improved, but device mobility between networks is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The registration mechanism is designed to be universal, allowing a device registered once with the blockchain system to access multiple sensor networks. The blockchain stores verification data that can be queried by different networks, enabling seamless device mobility without requiring re-registration or re-authentication in each new network.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain acts as a mobile-friendly intermediary that maintains device identity and security credentials independently of any single network. This allows devices to move between networks while maintaining their registered identity, with the blockchain verifying their authenticity to each network without interrupting their mobility or requiring repeated authentication.
3Use of energy by moving object
If dynamic identity derivation using transaction numbers is implemented, then resource consumption is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service through automatic identity derivation. When a device registers with the blockchain, the system automatically generates a unique identifier based on the device's static address and the blockchain transaction number. This automatic process eliminates the need for manual configuration or complex identity management protocols, reducing resource consumption while keeping the implementation relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the key parameter from static device addresses to dynamic identifiers derived from transaction numbers. This parameter transformation allows the system to reuse static addresses while generating unique dynamic identities through simple concatenation or hashing operations, reducing computational complexity and resource requirements compared to conventional authentication mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for use in generating a dynamically-changing IoT device identity with robust blockchain validation are provided. When entering a communication network, an IoT device performs a procedure for registration. The procedure includes communicating, in a transaction, data associated with the IoT device to a network device (e.g. a fog router). The data includes, amongst other data items, an identity for addressing communications to and from the IoT device. A transaction number associated with the transaction is received based on a blockchain registration of the transaction. An updated identity of the IoT device is then derived based on the transaction number. In one example, the updated identity of the IoT device may be derived by combining a static address of the IoT device and the transaction number. The steps may be repeated by the device for each one of a plurality of network registrations.