The fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) provides high-bandwidth and low-latency data channels for massive IoT terminals to access the core business network. At the same time, it also brings higher security threats and challenges. Terminal identity authentication is an important security mechanism to ensure the core business network; however, most of the existing solutions adopt a centralized authentication model. Once the number of authentication requests exceeds the processing capacity of the authentication center service, it will cause authentication request congestion or deadlock. The decentralized authentication model can effectively solve the above problems. This article proposes a decentralized IoT authentication scheme called A² Chain. First, A² Chain uses edge computing to decentralize the processing of authentication requests and eliminate the burden on authentication services and the network. Second, to implement cross-domain identity verification of IoT devices, A² Chain uses blockchain, and sidechain technologies are used to securely share the identity verification information of IoT devices. Additionally, A² Chain replaces public key infrastructure (PKI) algorithm with identity-based cryptography (IBC) algorithm to eliminate the management overhead caused by centralized authentication model.

中文翻译：

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A2链：基于区块链的分散式身份验证方案，用于支持5G的物联网

第五代移动通信技术（5G）为大型IoT终端提供了高带宽和低延迟的数据通道，以访问核心业务网络。同时，它也带来了更高的安全威胁和挑战。终端身份认证是确保核心业务网络的重要安全机制。但是，大多数现有解决方案都采用集中式身份验证模型。一旦认证请求数量超过认证中心服务的处理能力，将导致认证请求拥塞或死锁。分散式认证模型可以有效解决上述问题。本文提出了一种称为A ² Chain的分散式IoT身份验证方案。首先，A ²Chain使用边缘计算来分散身份验证请求的处理，并消除了身份验证服务和网络的负担。其次，为了实现IoT设备的跨域身份验证，A ² Chain使用区块链，并使用侧链技术安全地共享IoT设备的身份验证信息。此外，A ²链用基于身份的加密（IBC）算法代替了公钥基础结构（PKI）算法，从而消除了由集中式身份验证模型引起的管理开销。