Personalized Context-Aware Authentication Protocols in IoT

Abstract

The IoT is a specific type of network with its own communication challenges. There are a multitude of low-power devices monitoring the environment. Thus, the need for authentication may be addressed by many available sensors but should be performed on the fly and use the personal characteristics of the device’s owner. Thus, a review and a study of the available authentication methods were performed for use in such a context, and as a result, a preliminary algorithm was proposed as a solution. The algorithm utilizes a variety of independent factors, including the user’s personal characteristics, knowledge, the context in which the authentication is taking place, and the use of steganography, to authenticate users in the dispersed environment. This algorithm encodes all of these factors into a single data vector, which is then used to verify the user’s identity or as a digital signature. Using this personalized context-aware protocol, it is possible to increase the reliability of authentication, given the emphasis on usability in low-computing-power but highly sensor-infused environments and devices. Although more testing is needed to optimize it as an industry solution, personalized protocols seem to have a future in the IoT world.