ECC based inter-device authentication and authorization scheme using MQTT for IoT networks

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged from the proliferation of smart and inter-connected devices ranging from tiny sensors to complex Fog and Cloud nodes, various networking technologies, and communication protocols. These IoT devices permeate in our lives through various applications including smart homes, healthcare, defence, transportation, and so forth. Although IoT provides a way of interaction among the physical world objects and the Internet, these connected devices have created a new dimension of security challenges associated with the vulnerabilities present in them. These challenges can be tackled to some extent by deploying a rigid authentication and access control model. In this paper, we propose a novel light-weight authentication and authorization framework suitable for distributed IoT environment using Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT). Moreover, we implement the scheme, and analyse and compare its various security and performance aspects with other schemes. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.