Scalable and Robust Multi-Factor Authentication Mechanism Based on ECC for IoT Devices

Abstract

In today's digital landscape, devices seamlessly integrate across a wide range of domains, including smart cities, industry and smart healthcare. Authentication of these entities has become a paramount concern and remains one of the most significant security challenges in Internet of Things (IoT) networks. Most IoT authentication schemes rely on two-factor authentication and often struggle to ensure unlinkability, key secrecy, perfect forward secrecy, and resistance to various security threats. To overcome these challenges, researchers are exploring advanced resource-efficient authentication protocols, called multi-factor authentication. In this research, we introduce a novel multi-factor authentication mechanism based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for IoT devices, which provides an efficient yet secure solution for resource-constrained IoT devices. The proposed protocol is evaluated using AVISPA to formally verify its security features and BAN logic to examine its authentication processes. The results reveal that it provides a high level of security, making it well-suited for a wide range of IoT applications.