World Wide Web

Source-specific multicast

Biology

Inter-domain

Computer security

Drone

The Internet

Computer science

Computer network

Multicast

Genetics

Mathematics

Domain (mathematical analysis)

Mathematical analysis

Authentication (law)

Single point of failure

IEEE Internet of Things Journal

While 5G can facilitate high-speed Internet access and make over-the-horizon control a reality for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs; also known as drones), there are also potential security and privacy considerations, for example, authentication among drones. Centralized authentication approaches not only suffer from a single point of failure but they are also incapable of cross-domain authentication. This complicates the cooperation of drones from different domains. To address these limitations, a blockchain-based cross-domain authentication scheme for intelligent 5G-enabled Internet of drones is proposed in this article. Our approach employs multiple signatures based on threshold sharing to build an identity federation for collaborative domains. This allows us to support domain joining and exiting. Reliable communication between cross-domain devices is achieved by utilizing smart contract for authentication. The session keys are negotiated to secure subsequent communication between two parties. Our security and performance evaluations show that the proposed scheme is resistant to common attacks targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices (including drones), as well as demonstrating its effectiveness and efficiency.

Blockchain-Based Cross-Domain Authentication for Intelligent 5G-Enabled Internet of Drones