Blockchain-Based Public Key Authentication of IoT Devices for Electrical Energy Systems

Information and communication technologies (ICT) support the digital evolution of energy networks, enabling automated and smart operations. Internet of Things (IoT) devices allow automated remote measurements and data collection improving anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and operational efficiency. When IoT devices communicate with each other they shall be authenticated within the network. Traditional authentication methods rely on certificates issued by a centralized Certification Authority (CA), that may be affected by a single point of failure and may be computationally heavy for resource constrained IoT devices. The paper presents a prototype implementation of a blockchain based public key authentication for IoT devices in the context of electrical monitoring systems. In the proposed solution, the IoT devices communicate on a secure channel via a publisher subscriber protocol (MQTT - Message Queue Telemetry Transport), exploiting the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and the use of an Algorand Blockchain system. The results of the functional testing are encouraging a deeper investigation in the adoption of Blockchain systems for the authentication of IoT devices in typical scenarios targeted by the energy transition.