Abstract
Identity is a crucial property of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Due to rapid growth and high numbers of similar devices, reliable identification of those devices is a problem. The origin and history of an IoT device is especially important in security relevant environments. Our research addresses this issue by proposing an approach based on blockchain and decentralized identifiers (DID). It is inspired by the concepts of self-sovereign identity (SSI) and bootstrapping of remote secure key infrastructures (BRSKI). Devices are equipped by the manufacturer with an identity stored in a trusted execution environment (TEE) and secured by a blockchain. This identity can be used to trace back the origin of the device. During the bootstrapping process on the customer side, the identity registration of the device is updated in the blockchain. This process is performed by a so-called registrar. Smart contracts prevent unsolicited transfer of ownership and track the history of the device. Besides proof of origin and device security our concept can be used for device inventory and firmware upgrade. A prototype implementation was realized to validate the concept. All six use cases have been implemented and tested using an Ethereum blockchain infrastructure. JSON Web Tokens (JWT) have been used as signed artefacts to transfer information between the stakeholders. This enables an asynchronous communication needed for example in an environment with no direct internet access. Such an infrastructure can be provided by an independent association and can be used by all manufacturers. Depending on the environment, a registration of devices can be optional or mandatory.
Highlights
The rapidly growing number of devices used for the Internet of Things (IoT) is raising concerns about the origin and history of these devices
Al-Bassam describes in his paper [17] a smart contractbased identity system where each entity is represented by an Ethereum address
We propose a system containing a smart contract DIDManufacturerInventory which manages the identities of IoT devices
Summary
The rapidly growing number of devices used for the Internet of Things (IoT) is raising concerns about the origin and history of these devices. Security issues regarding IoT devices lead to new concepts about bootstrapping and administration. Identity becomes a crucial property of IoT devices. In a multi-provider environment those kinds of approaches have major disadvantages since the customer himself is responsible for administration. In this paper we propose a new approach applying concepts from self-sovereign identity to IoT devices ensuring their identity and history. Derived from [1] we call our approach a “Manufacturer Authorized Signing Authority Blockchain Infrastructure” (MASA-BI). The system is based on the blockchain technology to ensure immutability, autonomy and unified interfaces. We will give a short introduction into the topic of identity and self-sovereign identity summarizing the major concepts used here. The analysis of advantages and disadvantages as well as a final conclusion completes the paper
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