Design and Implementation of a Lightweight Authentication Framework for the Internet of Things (IoT)

Abstract

Authentication is a critical issue in the rapidly growing IoT environment, considering that the network security is dependent on how properly the authentication process is done. Cyber attackers are turning their attention from traditional computers to IoT devices in smart homes for malicious activities, such as compromising smart home owner privacy and using smart home devices as stepping stones for large scale attacks through botnets. Many IoT devices run with weak or manufacturer-supplied default passwords, which make them highly vulnerable to various forms of credential theft attacks. Furthermore, the hackers may use stolen identities or counterfeit identities of rogue devices to connect to the IoT network. In this paper, we provide a lightweight authentication framework that uses dynamic identities and temporary keys for IoT nodes in smart homes. We implement the framework using the Objective Modular Network Testbed in C++ (OMNeT++). The implementation and evaluation show that the framework is efficient and can protect smart devices against well-known security attacks.