Secure and Energy-Efficient Handover in Fog Networks Using Blockchain-Based DMM

Abstract

Modern fog network architectures, empowered by IoT applications and 5G communications technologies, are characterized by the presence of a huge number of mobile nodes, which undergo frequent handovers, introducing a significant load on the involved network entities. Considering the distributed and flat nature of these architectures, DMM can be the only viable option for efficiently managing handovers in these scenarios. The existing DMM solutions are capable of providing smooth handovers, but lack robustness from the security point of view. Indeed, DMM depends on external mechanisms for handover security and uses a centralized device, which has obvious security and performance implications in flat architectures where hierarchical dependencies can introduce problems. We propose a new DMM schema based on the blockchain, capable of resolving hierarchical security issues without affecting the network layout, and also satisfying fully distributed security requirements with less consumption of energy.