CABC: A Cross-Domain Authentication Method Combining Blockchain with Certificateless Signature for IIoT

Abstract

Device management in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is complex, especially in a cross-domain context. Trust identity authentication between cross-domain devices is required when devices work together. Existing identity authentication methods can result in heavy key management overhead or be computationally demanding on the device. In this paper, we propose a cross-domain authentication scheme based on blockchain and certificateless signature that can be suitable for IIoT devices. First, smart contracts are used to complete trusted identity verification of devices, which reduces the computing overhead of IIoT devices. Second, a trust value-based access control method is proposed, which can quickly and timely identify malicious authentication and ensure the normal operation of the authentication system. Finally, the validity and safety of our proposed methods are proven by experiments. The experiment results showed that our methods can meet the needs in terms of IIoT device security and blockchain system output performance, and can achieve cross-domain authentication for IIoT devices.