Blockchain-Based Key Management Scheme in Fog-Enabled IoT Systems

There are a number of benefits associated with the deployment of fog computing, for example, by analyzing and computing data from Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices at the fog nodes reduce the bandwidth, computational, and storage overheads at the cloud servers and improve user quality of experience (e.g., due to reduced latency). However, there are also additional security implications and requirements. For example, secure keys are needed to establish secure channels among these distributed fog nodes. Therefore, to facilitate fog nodes in managing secure keys and establishing secure group channels, we present a novel fog system and propose a blockchain-based group key management scheme that builds on an earlier work. We also design a new resource authentication mechanism based on Proof of Work (PoW), and when deployed in our fog system facilitates resource authentication (i.e., a fog node in a fog system can evaluate the capability of a fog device's computing power before the device is permitted to enter the system). Findings from our simulations and secure analysis demonstrate the utility of our system.

Automated summary

The deployment of fog computing can reduce overheads at cloud servers and improve user experience, but it also requires attention to security implications. This study introduces a novel fog system and proposes a blockchain-based group key management scheme to address secure key establishment and resource authentication. Simulation findings and secure analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system.