Comparative study on blockchain-based distributed public key infrastructure for IoT applications

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) has gained wide popularity due to its implementation in smart homes and wearables. IoT centralized system increases the risk of a single point of failure and thus reduces the scalability. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) mitigates these security concerns by providing digital certifcates which act as identity proof with a limited lifetime. Certifcate Authority (CA) grants public key certifcates that consist not only of users but also of servers and software. Once the private key is exposed then an attacker can misuse the information that is intended for the receiver. IoT has low computational power, which can disrupt the encryption process. Blockchain has been transforming cyberspace since its inception as the fundamental technology behind the emergence of cryptocurrencies. Blockchain’s key features consist of decentralization, transparency, immutability, encryp tion, peer to peer which will overcome the shortcomings of IoT infrastructure. Blockchain records every transaction in the blocks, which are secured by hashing algorithms. Smart contracts will be implemented in the PKI and will be executed when certain conditions are fulflled. PKI with IoT lacks trust in the certifcate and the high cost of signing the certif cate. IoT with blockchain has real-life use cases in diferent sectors such as medicine, sup ply chain, smart home automation, and so on. In this paper, we have done a comparative analysis of existing work by various researchers and focused on the challenges of PKI with IoT, and provided potential solutions for blockchain Implementation with PKI and IoT.