LightAuth: A Lightweight Sensor Nodes Authentication Framework for Smart Health System

Abstract

Counterfeit medical devices pose a threat to patient safety, necessitating a secure device authentication system for medical applications. Resource-constrained sensory nodes are vulnerable to hacking, prompting the need for robust security measures. Token-based authentication schemes, such as one-time passwords (OTPs), smart cards, key fobs, and mobile authentication apps, along with certificate-based authentication methods, such as client and code-signing, employ cryptographic frameworks like elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) and physical unclonable functions (PUF). However, these methods face challenges, including block sequence issues and susceptibility to side-channel attacks. To address these issues, we propose a framework for mutual authentication using private Ethereum. This framework integrates private Ethereum and cryptographic techniques for encrypting and decrypting data using mathematical algorithms to overcome block sequence issues and side-channel attacks. Similarly, fog nodes are utilised to enhance local computing, storage, and networking capabilities for sensors. The framework is evaluated using metrics such as communication costs, execution costs, and computation costs based on Ethereum gas consumption. The performance of the LightAuth framework is compared with that of the Smart Contracts Against Counterfeit IoMT (SCACIoMT) framework, designed for Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices. The effectiveness of LightAuth is verified through formal security analysis using BAN logic.