A three-factor anonymous user authentication scheme for Internet of Things environments

Abstract To accelerate the deployment of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks, millions of devices are being connected to massive Internet of Things (IoT) networks. However, advances in the scale of connectivity on 5G networks may increase the attack surface of these devices, thereby increasing the number of attack opportunities. To address the potential security risks in IoT systems, one feasible security practice involves the development of secure and efficient user authentication schemes. In 2017, Dhillon and Kalra proposed a three-factor user authentication scheme for IoT. We noted that their scheme suffers from several security weaknesses. In this study, we specifically demonstrate that the scheme proposed by Dhillon and Kalra (1) is not secured from a stolen mobile device attack; (2) does not prevent a user impersonation attack; (3) does not provide a session key agreement; (4) does not have a contingency plan (e.g., a revocation phase) for situations where a user’s private key is compromised, or a mobile device is stolen or lost. We propose an improved three-factor user authentication scheme to resolve these security issues. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed scheme provides desirable attributes for IoT environments and that its computation and communication costs are suitable for extremely low-cost IoT devices.