Blockchain-Assisted Authentication and Key Agreement Protocol for Cloud-Edge Collaboration

In response to the urgent need for scalable, lightweight, low-latency, anonymous, and highly secure identity authentication and key agreement protocol schemes in cloud-edge collaborative environments, we propose a blockchain-assisted lightweight authentication and key agreement protocol. In this protocol, a distributed environment based on a consortium blockchain is created with the assistance of cloud servers and edge nodes, reducing reliance on a single trusted authority. Anonymous real identity authentication and blockchain storage mechanisms ensure the credibility of identity information and the security of privacy information. In addition, most of the computational overhead of the authentication and key agreement process is transferred to the edge nodes and cloud services, reducing latency and reducing the computational burden on IoT devices. Security analysis shows that the protocol is secure against common attacks, and performance comparison analysis with similar protocols shows that our protocol is more secure and efficient, making it more suitable for resource-limited IoT devices.