Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computer Standards & Interfaces

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/csi

Blockchain authentication of network applications: Taxonomy, T

classification, capabilities, open challenges, motivations, recommendations
and future directions
⁎
A.H. Mohsin, A.A. Zaidan , B.B. Zaidan, O.S. Albahri, A.S. Albahri, M.A. Alsalem, K.I. Mohammed
Department of Computing, Faculty of Arts, Computing and Creative Industry, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As the first and last line of defence in many cases, authentication is a crucial part of a system. With authenti-
Blockchain technology cation, any unauthorised access to the system can be prevented. This work maps the research landscape through
Authentication two means. The first is a comprehensive taxonomy of blockchain technology in authentication over networking.
Distributed ledger technology The second is identification of different types of authentication systems under various platforms that use
Security
blockchain technology. This work also provides useful and classified information which can enhance the un-
Decentralised app
derstanding of how various authentication systems can be combined with blockchain technology. In addition,
problems associated with this blockchain technology and proposed solutions are surveyed to fulfil the re-
quirements of the network applications. Moreover, this work highlights the importance, capabilities, motivations
and challenges of blockchain technology with distinct applications in various fields. Finally, recommendations
and future research directions are discussed.

1. Introduction
For several decades, user authentication has been a cornerstone in
information systems. The most widely used form of user authentication
in modern computer systems is the password based. However, this user
authentication heavily depends on human cognitive ability to re-
member user ID and password. The proliferation of the Internet has
driven users to create multiple passwords for different systems, leaving
them with the burden of remembering all these passwords. Another
issue related to password-based user authentication is its vulnerability
to password leakage and cracking attacks. To address these drawbacks,
uniform identity authentication is required. By using uniform identity
authentication, system users are provided with a convenient way of
identity authentication. Users are required to log in to a reliable au-
thentication server with a user ID and password and afterwards to third
parties with a trusted authentication system. The problem is that denial
of service attacks and technical failure can lead to the inefficiency of the
trusted third party. The design and implementation of an authentication
scheme which is user-friendly and independent of a trusted party re-
mains a challenge [1].
Since the commercialisation of the Internet in 1994, the services of
digital content delivery have rapidly increased. The delivery of video
and music may be the most dominant of the Internet payload,
occupying over half of the Internet traffic. Delivery systems are cate-
gorised into two kinds: unprotected and protected. Although various
ways to protect digital content are available, encryption is the basic
technology used. The variation is dependent on how the key for de-
crypting the content is conveyed. Digital content in the commercial
domain is protected through digital rights management (DRM) and
conditional access system. However, a disadvantage of these systems is
pirate attack. Digital content can be accessed illegally by attacks to the
content, such as stealing or decrypting. Until today, this challenge re-
mains the most difficult with regard to the distribution of digital con-
tent [2].
The revolution of digital currencies has been enabled by Bitcoin and
its underlying blockchain technology. Apart from this revolution, other
research areas have been influenced by this technology. Blockchain
represents the source of transaction information which can be shared
among all users in a distributed network of devices. By using Bitcoin
blockchain technology, every transaction performed within the network
is recorded and stored, thereby eliminating dependency on third parties
such as payment processors. A generalised framework for the im-
plementation of decentralised computer systems can be derived by
extending the paradigm of blockchain, which was originally designed to
be a financial ledger. This blockchain has been used in several domains,
including smart grid, healthcare and supply chain. Fig. 1 illustrates the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: aws.alaa@fskik.upsi.edu.my (A.A. Zaidan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2018.12.002
Received 1 October 2018; Received in revised form 12 December 2018; Accepted 30 December 2018
Available online 31 December 2018
0920-5489/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A.H. Mohsin et al. Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60

Fig. 1. Year of proposal of each blockchain communication platform.

year when each blockchain platform was proposed.
The problem of distributed user authentication can be addressed
with blockchain [3]. In addition to security vulnerability of data
management system, security issues include Sybil attack, IP spoofing
and single-point failure. The blockchain uses properties such as data
integrity, non-repudiation and authentication to solve the aforemen-
tioned problems. Several organisations have designed blockchain
platforms which are mostly open source with interesting use cases other
than cryptocurrency. Fig. 2 presents the popular blockchain platforms
along with a brief description.
This paper primarily contributes to the authentication-based
blockchain technology. Different components of system architectures,
methods, frameworks, models and algorithms are incorporated in this
authentication-based blockchain technology. In relation to this

Fig. 2. Popular blockchain platforms.

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A.H. Mohsin et al.
contribution, majority of the problems associated with this blockchain
technology and proposed solutions are surveyed in this work to fulfil
the requirements of the system. Another contribution is the discussion
of the importance, capabilities, motivations and challenges of the
blockchain technology as well as recommendations and future research
directions from an authentication perspective. The focus is on practical
issues such as data processing, security and privacy as well as net-
working and data storage. This paper has five sections which are or-
ganised as follows. Section 1 explains the basic information on block-
chain and its most famous technologies and platforms. Section 2
describes the research methodology. Section 3 presents the results of
the study, and Section 4 discusses the results. Finally, Section 5 pro-
vides the conclusions and recommends future research direction.
1.1. Blockchain communication technology
A blockchain is a storage mechanism tailored to keep record of
transactions that occur between two parties in a permanent and ver-
ifiable manner [4]. Blockchain is also an open, distributed peer-to-peer
mechanism of data storage [4]. However, trust in information systems
can be further complicated by the lack of mechanisms for verification,
particularly when sensitive information, such as economic transactions
involving virtual currencies, is involved.
Satoshi Nakamoto introduced two radical concepts in 2008, namely,
Bitcoin and blockchain. The value of Bitcoin is maintained with no
support from a centralised financial entity or authority. A decentralised
P2P network of actors collectively and securely holds the coin. The
actors make up a verifiable and auditable network. The newly in-
troduced technology blockchain can solve the reliability problem of
Bitcoin, the first decentralised cryptocurrency which has changed the
means of money transfer. By using Bitcoin and many other emerging
types of cryptocurrency, funds can be transferred globally using digital
and non-transferable wallet with no financial entities and foreign ex-
change required. Bitcoin is supported by blockchain, which is a pro-
tocol that ensures that the information remains intact over time.
Blockchain has been applied to other areas, such as voting systems, data
storage and renting, given the immutability of the information being
guaranteed in applications besides cryptocurrencies. The authenticity
of information has been revolutionised with the emergence of block-
chain. It has gained more popularity than cryptocurrencies. However,
unlike Bitcoin, blockchain allows the verification of transactions by a
group of unreliable actors. Through blockchain, an auditable, trans-
parent, immutable, distributed and secure ledger can be obtained.
Previous transactions that occurred on the system can be fully and
openly accessed, and these transactions can also be verified and col-
lated at any point in time. In the blockchain protocol, information is
structured in a chain of blocks, with a set of previous Bitcoin transac-
tions carried out at a particular point in time stored in each block. A
chain is formed through linking blocks by Reyna et al. [5].
Various kinds of blockchains exist based on the type of data man-
aged, obtainability of the data and the kind of actions which can be
performed by the user. Therefore, blockchains can be classified as
permissioned and permissionless and private and public [6]. Table 1
provides the definitions of the different versions of blockchain. In
blockchain technology, data block is the basic processing unit wherein
every transaction and related authentication information in a given
Table 1
Definitions of the different versions of blockchain.
Blockchain version Definition
Blockchain 1.0 Corresponds with the original cryptocurrency uses.
Blockchain 2.0 Introduced in January 2014 with the launch of the Ethereum platform as an open-source platform which enhances smart contracts and focuses on financial
transactions such as loans, stocks and financial contracts.
Blockchain 3.0 Introduced to cover a range of non-financial transactions such as usage in health, art, science and government.
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
period of time is stored. On the basis of the time sequence, the data
structure in blockchain has been arranged in a chain. To implement a
fast, efficient, safe and simple storage data management system, SHA
256 algorithm and Merkle tree are used by blockchain. Moreover,
blockchain technology has been developed in areas of smart contract
and lightning network. For example, scalability is offered in lightning
networks. As a result, certain problems in Bitcoin are solved. In the
blockchain, small transactions are used in deriving the way the block-
chain bears.
In the case of secret sharing, the encrypted data are divided into
parts called shares. After the data are divided, the divided portions are
distributed separately into various online storages. However, when a
strong attacker who can widely spy the internet targets a user, the se-
cret sharing approach, as a countermeasure, is insufficient. The data
exchange among users and participants for commercial online storage
servers, and the target servers are where user's share is stored. By
eavesdropping on this data exchange, the attacker can infiltrate these
target servers. If this eavesdropping occurs, then the shares maybe
stolen or deleted by the attacker. The encrypted data may be at risk of
being stolen or deleted, if adequate shares for the data reconstruction
are robbed or remove. Furthermore, the offline brute-force attack may
cause the decryption of plain data [7].
Blockchain is a technology that can provide a strong and powerful
cyber security solution alongside high level of privacy guard. The
proponents of blockchain technology have argued that its design fa-
cilitates its security. In a blockchain model, the records are stored on
different interlocked computers. Therefore, the storage of data with
third parties is not required.
Blockchain technology offers the five following benefits [8]:
1 Efficiency: Blockchain can be easily managed and can track complex
data logs.
2 Security: The security provided by a blockchain is better than that
by a centralised data management. The latter is at risk of being
damaged due to hacker intrusion. In blockchain, falsifying data is
almost impossible because of the simultaneous control of devices
where data are stored, such as mobile devices. Moreover, the hacker
needs to change all the data stored in the devices to falsify data.
3 Resilience: All information in blockchain is not stored in one place
compared with a centralised data management, where information
is equally distributed among the collaborating mobile devices. A
single point of failure (SPOF) does not exist. Even if several mobile
devices encounter errors or performance degradation, the possibility
of malicious threats being encountered by an MRM infrastructure
using blockchain is slim. Even if attacked, it can recover easily.
4 Transparency: All usage data and resource status are open by default
because resource metadata are shared among all the participating
mobile devices. In this study, specific mobile devices within the
MRM infrastructure are prevented from exclusively occupying re-
sources.
5 Security: Blockchain is secured by distributing data among many
interlocked computers. Over 50% of the systems within the network
vulnerable to any hacking become unsuccessful [9]. By using a
hashing function, a block data chain is created to build the ledger
containing all the transaction histories.
A.H. Mohsin et al. Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60

1.2. Research objectives ScienceDirect, Web of Science, conference proceedings and journal
publications, the primary search for this review was conducted.
This study performs a systematic review and analysis of (state-of- Regardless of the nature (whether it offers technical or scientific lit-
the-art) research which attempted to achieve authentication in different erature), reliable and relevant databases were searched.
fields using blockchain technology. The specific objectives of this study
are as follows: 2.4.2. Study inclusion/exclusion criteria
To ensure use of relevant studies, the search only included materials
- To identify the taxonomy and classify all the studies according to that were published within January 2013 to 1 December 2018.
different categories. Moreover, only papers written in English were included. Besides the
- To identify the benefits of using blockchain and its challenges for mentioned criteria for inclusion, we specifically focused on studies that
providing recommendations that can enhance its effectiveness. employed blockchain technology in authentication system in central or
- To investigate the problems related to blockchain and propose so- distributed servers in different domains such as smart home, govern-
lutions within the scope of this paper. ment operations and smart city. This focus is further elaborated in
Section 2.3.
We also provide researchers with a list of the names of journals
interested in blockchain technology. In addition, future studies sug-
2.4.3. Selection
gested by other authors are also presented.
All the filters used on the gathered articles for obtaining the last set
of articles are given in this paragraph. Fig. 4 shows the order of pro-
2. Research methodology
cessing stages of these filters.
2.1. Research questions
1 Journal and conference articles
Q1. What is the taxonomy of the research which studied authenti-
In the first stage, all unpublished journals and conference articles
cation system using blockchain technology?
were manually eliminated.
Q2. What are the distribution of articles published in this topic in
terms of publication years, significance of using blockchain, publisher,
1 Full text availability
problems, proposed solutions and blockchain implementation re-
garding authentication?
In the second stage, all articles that were not available in full text
Q3. What are the motivations and capabilities of using blockchain
were excluded. These articles were only two.
technology in authentication?
Q4. What are the challenges faced in this research?
1 Non-English language articles
Q5. What are the recommendations which can be followed to ensure
that blockchain is effectively used during the process of authentication?
The third stage involved the exclusion of articles written in any
What are the future studies suggested by authors in the literature used
other language other than English. No such articles were found and
for this systematic review?
excluded.
2.2. Research scope
1 Duplication
This study focused on the most usable form of authentication in
The fourth stage involved intersecting between all databases papers
daily life based on blockchain technology. The reviewed literature was
to identify and exclude duplicated articles. The total number of
selected from different fields, as shown in Fig. 5. These fields include
duplicated articles found was 32.
Internet of Things (IoT), smart domains, telemedicine, cloud computing
and artificial intelligence. For example, artificial intelligence is in-
1 Focusing on use of blockchain technology in terms of authentication
tegrated with blockchain technology to achieve authentication. In the
filtering stage of the paper selection process, unrelated papers were
The fifth stage involved the exclusion of articles, abstracts and titles
excluded, as discussed in Section 2.4.
with no evidence of investigating the use of blockchain technology.
2.3. Review protocol
1 Full text reading
In this review, the research protocol contained search strategy,
In the sixth stage, all the relevant papers were selected subsequent
database selection, criteria for quality assessment and criteria for in-
to a complete full text reading. The total numbers of articles that
clusion and exclusion. The steps of paper selection are depicted in
were selected and used after the entire filtering process were 45.
Fig. 3.

2.4. Research strategy 3. Results

To create a detailed search strategy, keywords as well as alternative
ways of expressing were first identified to develop a search query.
Fellow academics were also consulted in relation to the task involved.
The search was conducting early June 2018 in consideration of newly
published articles. To match the search string with the formatting re-
quirements for each database, we altered the search string. The general
strategy used is ((Blockchain OR "Blockchain") AND (Authentication)).
2.4.1. Literature database
By using online research databases such as IEE Xplore,
This section provides findings regarding this systematic review on
the basis of authentication systems integrated with blockchain tech-
nology.
3.1. Taxonomy
This section contains the definitions of categories and subcategories
of all the types of articles. The definitions are given on the basis of the
taxonomy of the articles and the type of proposed solution to develop
the blockchain technology, as presented in Fig. 5.

44
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Fig. 3. Steps of the paper selection.
3.1.1. Development and design
In recent times, the use of authentication systems based on block-
chain technology has been employed in different spheres of life. The use
of these systems is employed in areas where decentralised authentica-
tion of devices or individuals is required. Majority of the articles (34/
45) in the first major category basically have focused on the develop-
ment and design of frameworks, algorithms, methods and techniques,
as presented in Fig. 5. Majority of these articles have aimed at enhan-
cing the authentication of devices or individuals using blockchain. Such
studies also aimed at enhancing data protection during communication
between nodes and data storage. On the basis of the taxonomy, this
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
category is classified into the following subcategories.
3.1.1.1. IoT. All studies regarding the authentication of users or
devices in IoT are discussed as follows.
- Smart phone
Cha et al. [10] proposed the blockchain connected gateway as a
mediator between IoT devices and users. In this study, instead of
directly accessing a device, users can use the blockchain connected
(BC) gateway to obtain information of the device as well as privacy
A.H. Mohsin et al. Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60

Fig. 4. Order of stages of the selection.

policies of IoT device linked to a BC gateway. Yang et al. [11]
proposed a 5 G architecture of blockchain on the basis of trust au-
thentication (BTA) and a blockchain-based anonymous access (BAA)
scheme. BAA is implemented in cloud radio over fibre network.
- Smart electricity meters
Lee and Kim [12] proposed a smart meter using blockchain tech-
nology due to different problems such as data alteration, forgery and
miscalculation of charges. The authentication of IoT device and data

46
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Fig. 5. Type of articles.
tampering can be prevented in IoT because IoT data are stored in the
blockchain. Third parties are prevented from viewing the user's
original data using block retrieve with zero-knowledge proof tech-
nology.
- Vehicular networks
Yang et al. [13] proposed a blockchain system in vehicular net-
works. Using the reputation values of the sender, this system helps
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
vehicles to determine if messages that have been received are false
or true. The reputation value is calculated using the ratings of pre-
vious messages broadcasted by a certain vehicle. A temporary centre
node provides the ratings, and the ratings are validated by majority
of the vehicles. Finally, the ratings are stored in the blockchain. In
other words, the agreement of majority of vehicles on the reputation
of a specific vehicle is reflected in the ratings stored in the block-
chain.
A.H. Mohsin et al.
- Smart city
By applying group key and key management based on multi-solution
chain, confidentiality was provided by Ra and Lee [14]. Moreover, a
smart home environment that reduces storage space was proposed
by this author. The smart home environment can perform this
function via extended Merkle tree and a KSI-based authentication
and communication that is efficient and secure.
Sharma and Park [15] maximised the growing software-defined
networking as well as blockchain technologies to present a hybrid
network architecture which can be implemented in the smart city.
The strengths of distributed and centralised network architectures
are inherited by this proposed architecture. Furthermore, to achieve
a high level of security and privacy of the model, a proof-of-work
scheme was proposed by the author. Zhu et al. [16] presented a
blockchain on the basis of identity framework for IoT (BIFIT). The
author(s) illustrated how to implement BIFIT in IoT smart homes to
enhance the autonomous extraction of the signatures of appliances,
thereby enabling the creation of blockchain-based identities for
their owners.
- General Authentication (others)
Lin et al. [17] constructed a new ID-based linear homomorphic
signature scheme, which addresses the limitations of using public
key certificates. The security of the scheme was proven against ex-
isting forgery on adaptively selected message and ID attack under
the random oracle model. Polyzos and Fotiou [18] designed a
blockchain which supports the data distribution system to enhance
the analysed operation in IoT. The benefits of this blockchain
technology can be used in building key security mechanisms. A new
DMM schema which can address hierarchical security issues was
proposed by Sharma et al. [19] on the basis of blockchain. The is-
sues are addressed without the network being affected. Moreover,
the schema fully satisfies the requirements for distributed security
and consumes less energy in IoT fog networks. Hammi et al. [20]
proposed bubbles of trust system as genuine and decentralised. In-
tegrity and accessibility of data are protected by this system. In
addition, the system supplies a strong identification and device
authentication. The authors maximised the security provided by
blockchains to achieve this goal. Basically, this system creates se-
cure virtual regions (bubbles) where trust and identity among things
exist.
3.1.1.2. Electricity microgrids. On the basis of the allocated attributes of
electrical transaction, Khan and Khan [21] reported that the signatures
of numerous producers can be used in validating the electrical
transactions hidden in blockchain. These signatures are verified and
endorsed by the consumers achieve those attributes with no
information being revealed. The producers are responsible for
generating the private and public keys for these consumers. The use
of these keys during endorsement confirms that the consumers have the
authority to perform the endorsement.
3.1.1.3. Telemedicine. Brogan et al. [22] designed FHIRChain prototype
using blockchain technology and FHIR standards to provide patients
with a collaborative clinical decision support. Five major requirements
given by the ONC interoperability way (the ability to determine user
identity and authentication and to protect information exchange, data
access authority, consistent data formats and modularity of the system)
were jointly addressed by this FHIRChain design and public key
cryptography. Zhanga et al. [23] presented FHIRChain, which is a
blockchain architecture specially tailored to fulfil the requirements of
ONC by encapsulating HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources
(FHIR) standard for shared clinical data. In this study, an FHIRChain-
based decentralised application was demonstrated using digital health
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
identities in a decision-making case study, where remote cancer care
which required authentication of individuals. For such system, Wu and
Tsai [24] proposed the requirements of network security and two
algorithms that satisfy these requirements. It proposed that in designing
a healthcare system, the security of information first, then storage of
information and access and finally security of network should be
planned accordingly. Medical data in health systems are guaranteed
to be in a high level of security and still confidential. Ji et al. [25]
proposed a blockchain-based multi-level location sharing scheme
(BMPLS). Furthermore, blockchain-based location sharing for telecare
medical information systems was investigated. The authors initially
defined the most important requirements of blockchain-based location
sharing. These requirements include decentralisation, confidentiality,
variability, irretrievability, multi-level privacy protection and
unforgeability. In this study, order-preserving encryption and Merkle
tree were used.
3.1.1.4. Satellite networks. A subject which has received great attention
in the field of satellite communication is LEO constellation. To
strengthen further the efficiency and authentication reliability of the
LEO constellation, Wei et al. [26] proposed blockchain-based access
verification protocol (BAVP) by integrating identity- based encryption
and blockchain technology. BAVP is a protocol that rapidly and
efficiently verifies access.
3.1.1.5. Cloud computing. Kim and Jeong [8] proposed the Secure
Authentication–Management human-centric scheme (SAMS), which
uses blockchain to authenticate mobile devices. This authentication
aims to trust the mobile devices’ information within the MRM resource.
The hash value of the major node is used from the SAMS and that of the
resource information in the subordinate client node within the MRM for
the creation of blocks. Blockchain is formed by SAMS by creating and
linking hash values and blocks with the addition of client nodes. On the
basis of the JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and blockchain, Faisca and
Rogado [27] proposed an authentication scheme as an essential tool for
personal cloud interoperability. Zhang et al. [28] introduced the BCPay,
which is a good payment framework using blockchain technology. This
framework was introduced to enable fair and secure payment of
outsourcing services in cloud computing without depending on a
third party (whether a trusted one or not). Architecture, properties
and intruder model of BCPay were presented alongside a detailed
description of the design.
3.1.1.6. Commercial online. On the basis of an open P2P network, a new
scheme with no central server for a secure online storage was proposed
by Fukumitsu et al. [7]. The proposed scheme does not allow the
detection of target user data in the online storage by the attacker
because secret sharing divides the data into different parts and
distributes them to P2P nodes through the anonymous communication.
3.1.1.7. Internet of energy. Huang et al. [4] proposed a model of
decentralised security for the management of EV charging in the
Internet of Energy (IoE). The model, which is referred to as LNSC,
maximises smart contracts and lighting network within a blockchain
ecosystem.
3.1.1.8. Broadcast. Kishigami et al. [2] proposed a digital content
distribution system based on a decentralised blockchain. In this study,
a prototype which can enhance the understanding of the concept of the
system was also provided. At the moment, no incentive mechanism for
the mining calculation exists in the proposed system, implying that no
cost can be covered if the hash value is calculated by each minor. In the
case of a Bitcoin system, the minor will be paid BTC as an incentive.
3.1.1.9. Artificial intelligence. Lasla et al. [29] employed blockchain for
tracking the certificate of each vehicle (revoked or valid) within
A.H. Mohsin et al.
immutable and distributed records. This study basically focused on
using lightweight blockchain-based authentication approach as an
alternative for certificate verification. Moreover, the authors proposed
a fully distributed vehicle admission/revocation scheme. They
illustrated how their proposed scheme can be used in alleviating
computation overhead, thereby improving response time and security
of the entire system.
3.1.1.10. Telecommunication. Using blockchain technology, Lee [30]
introduced a new ID as a service (IDaaS) for digital management. A
practical example was used in explaining how the developed
blockchain-based ID as a service works in the identification and
authentication of the mobile users in telecommunication company
and achieves the ability of managing the infrastructure. Via
blockchain, a new method of authenticating Wi-Fi access points using
Bitcoin 2.0 was proposed by Sanda and Inaba [31]. This method allows
the users authorisation through the exchange of Auth-Coins rather than
user information.
3.1.1.11. Industry 4.0. Lin et al. [32] proposed a system on the basis of
blockchain for secure mutual authentication of a hierarchical
framework. The framework consists of four tangible layers which are
tailored to combine vertically inter-organisational value networks,
manufacturing factories and engineering value chain. This conceptual
framework allows the efficient implementation of a flexible and re-
configurable smart factory.
3.1.1.12. Financial sector. Morrison [33] presented an architecture that
makes sensor data cloudy by hashing. Only the hashes are retained at
the enterprise level. The risk assessments, which credit card companies
use, inspired the idea of Context Integrity Measurement Architecture
(CIMA). Excursions ranging from normal to typical behaviour are
flagged by these assessments. If an excursion goes beyond a given
threshold level, then extra proof of identity is required by the card
companies before a transaction can be further performed. The idea
behind the CIMA is the measurement of excursions from physical and/
or logical situation related to mobile protection.
3.1.1.13. Cellular networks. Raju et al. [34] employed blockchain
technology to propose an identity management system which
enhances the privacy of users by considering attribution and
anonymity as important attributes of the system. The system also
facilitates end-to-end management from user authentication to usage
invoices. The setup employs pseudonymous identities to enable
network access, thereby preventing the reconstruction of a
participant's identity.
3.1.1.14. Social networks. To preserve private information on social
networks, Yu et al. [1] proposed an algorithm that efficiently preserves
the privacy of users. This algorithm preserves users’ private information
when communities are expanded on the basis of mining seed. Users are
prevented from tampering other users, whilst verifying their identities
after a request is sent. In this algorithm, the public key of users is stored
using the recognition and non-tampering of the blockchain. The public
key is bound to the block address used for authentication.
3.1.1.15. Websites. A framework for a fully distributed user
authentication was proposed by Zhang et al. [3] using blockchain
technology. In the proposed scheme, the identity of user is stored in the
blockchain. The user's encrypted personal information is then located in
off-blockchain storage. Finally, a smart contract which permits the
access to each website/application is attached. To verify the user's
identity, a challenge-response protocol is employed by a service
provider after the users haves logged in. Afterwards, when user's
personal information needs to be retrieved, this operation is
performed from the off-blockchain storage. Other studies in this
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
category have used blockchain for authentication to use blockchain in
different environments. Lin et al. [35] designed a cryptographic
membership authentication scheme (i.e. authenticating graph data)
which can support blockchain-based identity management systems. In
this system, a digital identity object is bound to its real-world entity. In
this work, the authors specifically introduced a novel scheme known as
transitively closed undirected graph authentication (TCUGA). The
scheme only requires node signatures, such as certificates for
identifying nodes. Niu et al. [36] designed and implemented an
access authentication scheme which can efficiently provide
accountability and anonymity in a simultaneous manner without
depending on any trustworthy third party. The current advancement
in Bitcoin techniques, such as CoinsShuffle protocol and Coloured
Coins, inspired the development of this scheme. The solution which
can be used to address the challenge confronting the quantum era
blockchain was proposed by Kiktenko et al. [37]. A quantum-safe
blockchain platform was realised after an experiment. The quantum-
safe blockchain can be used for quantum key distribution upon the fibre
network to obtain secure information authentication. Critical questions
regarding scalability and realisability of quantum-safe blockchains in
governmental and commercial use were answered using the results
obtained in this study.
3.1.2. Review and survey
On the basis of the taxonomy of articles, the second major category
is review and survey. The articles found under this category were only
eight out of the 45 articles. These articles are basically literature review
and previous surveys which handled issues related to the present study.
Two sub-categories are derived from this major category. The sub-
categories are as follows.
3.1.2.1. Review articles. Fernández-caramés and Member [6] proposed
a universal approach to blockchain for IoT scenarios. It presented the
fundamentals of blockchain regarding IOT applications, and a
comprehensive analysis of the most important aspects of their
development, implementation and. The study also aimed at predicting
the potential impact of blockchain in changing the IoT industry whilst
addressing the challenges faced today. Hawlitschek et al. [38]
addressed the question of how the notion and formation of trust in
the sharing economy is influenced by blockchain-based trust-free
systems. The findings of the study are as follows. 1) The meaning of
trust is basically relative between the contexts of sharing economy and
blockchain. 2) To a certain extent, blockchain technology is appropriate
for replacing trust in platform providers. 3) Transferring trust-free
systems to sharing economy interactions is difficult depending on the
development of reliable interfaces using blockchain ecosystems.
Purdon and Erturk [39] considered the future consequences of
blockchain because the imagination of innovators and computer sci-
entists is stimulated by the concept of disintermediated trustless led-
gers. The authors also highlighted the role of Cloud in the im-
plementation of this new paradigm as a novel decentralised P2P–Cloud
model. Finally, the manner in which blockchain can be incorporated
into the university curriculum of computer science and information
technology was discussed in the paper. Rivera et al. [40] used all re-
levant extant research on blockchain-based digital identity im-
plemented in a smart environment to conduct a systematic mapping
review. The paper provided an understanding of the current research
topics, challenges and future directions of these areas from a technical
point of view. Interest in theory and practice can be stimulated for
further discussions and research in these areas.
The attributes of e-residency regarding applying blockchain in
identity authentication and their consequences were explored from a
cross-discipline perspective by Sullivan and Burger [41]. In the study
carried out by Wolfond [42] the ecosystem approach to digital identity
was examined. Moreover, the study described the significance of
blockchain technology in addressing current and the Canadian context
A.H. Mohsin et al.
future challenges regarding verification and authentication.
3.1.2.2. Survey articles. The major security issues of IoT were surveyed
and reviewed in reference [43]. These issues were categorised on the
basis of three IoT layers, namely, high-level, intermediate-level, and
low-level IoT layers. In addition, the mechanisms recommended in the
literature for leveraging IoT security at different levels were also
discussed. In reference [44] a discussion on blockchain technology
and the key technologies related to blockchain technology were given.
The study also recommended areas for further studies on the basis of
the survey of the trends among relevant studies. The many current
issues associated with the use of blockchain within the environment of
cloud computing should be considered.
3.1.3. Evaluation studies
Kshetri [9] highlighted how will the solutions which depend on
blockchain perform in given conditions compared with the recent IoT
ecosystem, which basically depends on cloud servers that are cen-
tralised through service providers. The paper employed real-world ex-
amples to argue that the decentralised attribute of blockchain can make
a system less vulnerable to modify and counterfeit by tampering users.
In addition, the paper explored the possibility to make the blockchain
contain an IoT security gap in the goal after discovery.
3.1.4. Analytical studies
Out of the 45 articles, only two analytical studies were found. Reyna
et al. [5] analysed the major challenges which must be addressed by IoT
and blockchain to work together successfully. The authors also high-
lighted major areas where IoT applications can be improved by block-
chain on IoT devices, and an evaluation was carried out as well. The
study examined current platforms and applications to provide a holistic
overview of the interaction between IoT paradigm and blockchain
technology. Kumar and Mallick [45] provided an elaborate discussion
on the possible security problems from component interaction per-
spective in IoT. The author(s) also studied how it is impacted by the
distributed ledger-based blockchain technology. The application of
blockchain technology in specific sectors was also studied. To highlight
the contribution of blockchain technology, different challenges peculiar
to IoT and IoT combined with blockchain were discussed by the author
(s).
3.2. Classification of research papers
3.2.1. Distribution depending on year of publication
Fig. 6 shows the publication direction for the three databases (IEEE
Xplore, ScienceDirect and Web of Science) for each year in 2013–2018.
Generally, the rate of publication increases every year. A substantial
increase occurred in blockchain research in 2018. Therefore, the
Fig. 6. Publication trends for the three databases.
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
blockchain technology has gained increasing interest form researchers
in the last years. Additional studies are expected to be conducted in this
area.
3.2.2. Distribution by significance of using blockchain technology
We introduced a group of the general significance of using block-
chain technology in most information systems. The significances are in
terms of data structure, security, traceability, authentication and im-
plementation, as presented in Fig. 7.
3.2.2.1. Significance related to security. The blockchain technology can
be a solution for security and privacy problems of IoT. Security
challenges such as those related to access management and IP
spoofing and IP address counterfeit can be addressed in systems
where blockchain is employed. With the provision of a strong defence
against attacks, blockchain technology can solve the problems related
to IP spoofing and IP address forgery [6,45]. An important benefit of
using blockchain technology is security. With blockchain, falsifying
data is almost impossible because the simultaneous control of all mobile
devices containing the distributed data is required. This control also
requires changing all the data stored in the mobile devices [8]. For
example, in bank transactions, a hacker cannot possibly successfully
attacked the network and rob the money from an account because idle
undistinguishable copies of the same ledger are stored globally in
blockchain. The devices cannot communicate with one another by
disguising themselves or by injecting forge signatures into records
because blockchain cannot be altered [9]. Using blockchain, substantial
level of security is attained, censorship is prevented, the system is not
allowed to encounter single point failure and blockchain substantially
contribute to the scalability of the overlay architecture [18]. If the
distributed architecture technology of a blockchain is used, then the
malicious attack on a few nodes does not affect the operation of other
nodes [25]. In a situation where the attack attempt is practically
difficult, hash function is employed to confirm that the details of
transaction are not altered. The hash function is also used to find a
nonce value which can be used in getting a new block, thereby
guaranteeing the integrity of transaction data during a Bitcoin
transaction [44].
3.2.2.2. Significance related to data structure. The decentralised
management of identity and the distributed storage of credential are
enhanced by the irreversible, distributed, immutable and undeletable
nature of blockchain [27]. The blockchain is a structured list in which
data are stored similar to a distributed database. Furthermore, the
design of the blockchain makes its indiscriminate manipulation difficult
because the blockchain is saved and verified by the network
participants. The structure of each block is contented from a header
and a body. The hash values of current and previous nonce and block
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Fig. 7. Significances of using blockchain technology.
are the constituents of the header. The index method is used in
searching the block data within a database. Although the hash values
of the next block are not contained in the present block, they are added
as a practice [44].
3.2.2.3. Significance related to traceability. The use of blockchain in IoT
enables a trusted sharing service where the reliability and traceability
of information is guaranteed [5]. The tracking ability of blockchain in
IoT has been observed in agricultural and BIoT applications. To verify
the integrity of data and the temperature record accessibility in a
pharmaceutical feeding chain, IoT sensors and blockchain technology
were employed [6,43,2]. Blockchain can track sources of insecurity in
supply chain handle crisis such as product recalls during security
vulnerability [9]. Blockchain can also be used as an efficient
mechanism for accountability, where users who perform malicious
activities such as the distribution of DRM-protected content or
transmission of malicious information can be traced [18]. Moreover,
when blockchain is used in vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V),
the complete history of all the transactions performed can be traced
[29]. The movements of food can be traced using blockchain in the food
sector, thereby tackling food contamination rapidly [30]. Blockchain
has no single point of potential failure and provides a historical
transaction record which is transparent, complete and intrinsically
valid. In addition, conflicts are publicly resolved with the provision of
an unforgeable record of past transactions [38].
3.2.2.4. Significance related to implementation. Many benefits of
blockchain can be reaped during implementation in different
environments. One such benefit is the usability of the system. As a
result, the system is easy to implement, connect and expand by using an
open source. The level of blockchain efficiency is high because it can be
easily managed and can track complex data logs. Despite the
participation of several mobile devices, the complex processes of
system integration can be bypassed [8]. Moreover, the decentralised
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
blockchain also ensures that every party is responsible for the role it
plays in the entire transaction, thereby preventing dispute [9].
Blockchain also enhances a verified and transparent recording
without requiring a central authority or institution. Blockchain can
provide an infrastructure that organises a decentralised market [38]. To
reduce the cost of transactions and make them as public transactions,
transaction records are constructed as open access. Furthermore, the
total elimination of key management and distribution is possible with
blockchain [43]. Blockchain can be employed in different areas, such as
the financial sector and within the environment of IoT. The use of
blockchain is expected to expand further to different areas [44].
Examples of implementing blockchain in different fields are as fol-
lows:
- Social networks: Using reliability scoring, the system is improved by
blockchain, which performs an analysis of attacks instead of pro-
tecting them using proof-of-work [1].
- Energy sector: Blockchain applications are useful in energy sector or
in the IoE. A system which permits IoT/IoE devices to pay among
these devices without human intrusion can be constructed on the
basis of blockchain technology [6]. In addition, information on
electricity usage searches and payment can be stored using block-
chain [12]. When blockchain is used in electricity microgrids, the
transactions are made efficiently manageable by decentralised au-
thorities. However, the participation of several stakeholders in au-
thentication and information processing makes the approach ex-
pensive. Blockchain also allows each stakeholder to access
particular transaction data rather than to all transactions of con-
sumers. The authenticity of each stakeholder must be verified before
any changes to the consumer transactions are made [21].
- Smart environment: To address the existing single-point failure, a
block-chain-based IoT smart home environment is used in satisfying
efficient computation and providing security. It provides security in
terms of non-repudiation and digital signature [14].
A.H. Mohsin et al.
- Financial field: Blockchain can be used to address dual spending in
cryptocurrency [20]. The underpinning technology of Bitcoin is
blockchain. Bitcoin is a virtual peer-to-peer currency transaction
and payment system, where users can use a conventional inter-
mediary such as a bank or government agency [41].
- Property sector: Blockchain is used in the property sector for digital
yet unforgeable property records. It enhances transparency and
verifiability as well as reduces the number of disputes and transfer
fees [30].
3.2.2.5. Significance related to cost of authentication. The use of
blockchain in verifying the attributes of a device incurs no cost. In
other words, verification is done at no cost [9]. Currently, the
blockchain technology has been used in smart contracts to enable the
establishment of legal effects for transactions, thereby remarkably
reducing the cost of contract signing, contract execution and payment
matters [25].The blockchain can eliminate unnecessary charges
through P2P transactions with no third party authorisation because
the blockchain technology has broker-free (P2P-based) characteristics.
The cost of security is saved because hacking is difficult with the
ownership of transaction information by many people [44]. Therefore,
blockchain can reduce cost and fraud whilst simplifying the experience
of customers and preventing bad actors from tampering with the system
[42].
3.2.3. Distribution according to publisher house or journal
Fig. 8 reveals that the articles are classified according to journals,
publishers and scientific conferences. This classification is a new
method in systematic review. This kind of classification helps the re-
searcher to target the journal which is related to the topic of study.
3.2.4. Distribution by the type of the problems and the proposed solution for
each study
Many researchers have identified problems related to the current
research topic and proposed solutions for the identified problems.
Table 2 contains a list and brief discussion of all these problems and
their proposed solutions. This discussion provides an insight into these
problems.
3.2.5. Distribution according to field of blockchain implementation in terms
of authentication
According to this systematic review, the use of blockchain tech-
nology has been employed in different fields and environments to
achieve authentication, as presented in Fig. 9.
4. Discussion
4.1. Capabilities of blockchain
Blockchain allows creating digital code which contains contracts
and storing in distributed databases with high level of transparency.
Such contracts are protected from tampering, deletion or alterations
because the blockchain technology has many capabilities in terms of
privacy and security as well as data storage. Certain capabilities are
illustrated in Fig. 10 and explained in the subsequent paragraph.
4.1.1. Data storage capability
In terms of integrity, the design of blockchain foundation does not
allow the alteration of any information stored in it; the cost of making
alterations, if possible, is high [6]. The undeletable, immutable, dis-
tributed and irreversible nature of blockchain is appropriate for the
storage of distributed credential and the management of decentralised
identity [27]. Compared with the storage of all data in a central data-
base, blockchain provides higher security for data. Regarding data
storage and management, the danger of attacks on databases is reduced.
When used in an area that requires data disclosure, blockchain provides
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
transparency because of its openness. In conclusion, it is suitable for use
in different areas, such as financial sector and the IoT environment, and
its applications are expected to expand [44]. Moreover, blockchain can
record past actions during the processing time, and such past actions
can be retrieved in the future [45].
4.1.2. Data communication capability
In blockchain, the transaction can perform among two or more
nodes, thereby permitting a digital asset (the coin). The form of the
asses in the real world depends on the application used (for example, a
coin can be translated into real money, domain name or energy ex-
change from one device to another). Moreover, the use of blockchain in
smart contracts allows the establishment of a trust relationship among
two or more entities without depending on a trusted third party, and
the blockchain can reliably and single-handedly enforce this relation-
ship (i.e. smart contract) when required [18]. Double-spending between
customers can be prevented in bank transaction using blockchain
technology [27,45]. The purpose of developing blockchain is to provide
security, authentication, immunity against different attacks, privacy,
self-maintenance and simple deployment [6]. The participants have all
the transaction history. Blockchain, which can enhance network de-
pendability, can be the ideal and ultimate system [2].
4.1.3. Security capability
Blockchain can also trace sources of insecurity in supply chain and
handle issues of security vulnerability during product recall in a crisis.
Furthermore, security challenges such as IP spoofing and confronting
IoT can be addressed by blockchain-based identity and access man-
agement systems [9]. Blockchain helps in the management of data by
recording information on data in the block, thereby simplifying data
sorting. In addition, the problem of security vulnerability of data
management system in extant IoT platforms, such as Sybil attack, IP
spoofing and SPOF management, can be solved with the security
properties of blockchain. Such properties include data integrity, non-
repudiation and authentication [24].
4.1.4. Capability to reduce complexity
Blockchain technology can offer a new method of automating
business operation to avoid the cost and complexity in the centralised
IT infrastructure. It creates reliability among nodes and users as well as
minimises the risk of forgery and cost by eliminating third parties and
reducing the time process consumed [15]. Using blockchain tech-
nology, a distributed software architecture which allows conflicting
agents to engage in transactions that are cryptographically secure is
provided. The agents are allowed to interact without the need for a
centralised platform or governing authority. These characteristics re-
duce the complexities that come with writing contracts, thereby making
micro transactions less expensive; the sharing of information in lemon
markets is also enabled by blockchain. When blockchain is used in
micro transactions, decentralised authorities make the transactions ef-
ficiently manageable [21]. Accountability and transparency are two
major attributes of blockchain; both are necessary for applications re-
garding smart contracts and investment to manufacturing and health-
care [37]. Within this scope, blockchains solve the conflicts using trust
and secured records of history transactions [38].
4.2. Motivations
Motivations for using blockchain technology vary. We grouped
these motivations into categories extracted from the literature review,
as shown in Fig. 11.
4.2.1. Motivations related to implementation and efficiency
The aim of using blockchain here is to provide novel ways of au-
tomating business processes without the need for expensive centralised
IT infrastructure. The use of blockchain can enhance the building of
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Fig. 8. Classification of articles according to journals, publishers and scientific conferences.
trust between users and devices, reduce the settlement time for trans-
action, reduce the risk of falsification, reduce cost and eliminate in-
termediaries [15]. It also eliminates any third party as a trusted au-
thority; authorities such as banks are not required for the tracking of
money transfers because all members have their own tamper-proof
copy of the blockchain ledger. All copies of the blockchain maintained
by members are simultaneously updated through a peer-to-peer net-
work; thus, all members can validate the copies instantly [16]. In an IoT
environment, we should develop reliable and effective model for node
(devices) interaction and minimise as much as possible or eliminate
human intervention [18]. Blockchain is also used in improving the ef-
ficiency of competing authentication schemes for undirected graph in
terms of the capability to add or delete nodes and edges dynamically.
Moreover, blockchain efficiently solves the authentication of non-ex-
istent edges, which is a known challenge in transitive signature schemes
[35]. Furthermore, blockchain are widely used to provide trust and
authorise identity registration, ownership trackback and monitoring of
products, goods and assets [43].
4.2.2. Motivations related to safety and security
In a centralised system, the issues on user privacy and security arise.
These issues are against the personal cloud principle, which maintains
that groups and individuals should be in total control of their digital
personal identities and data. Thus, the need for blockchain prevents a
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
centralised security system [27]. Blockchain is used in digital identity
because of its major attributes such as data integrity, security and
anonymity without requiring a third party as an intermediary in charge
of the transactions [40]. In the context of identity, blockchain can prove
the existence and/or non-existence of a person at a particular place and
time on the basis of verification by a group of individuals. Actually,
their consensus constitutes fact [41].
4.2.3. Motivations related to data storage
The motivation of using blockchain in distributed system is related
to data storage and how these data are distributed within the network.
Blockchain facilitates produce a new secure online storage scheme on
the basis of an open P2P network without a central server. Blockchain
does not allow the detection of the target user data by attackers because
the data are divided into several parts by secret sharing. Afterwards, the
data are distributed into P2P nodes by anonymous communication [7].
4.3. Challenges
In this section, we discuss challenges faced by blockchain tech-
nology and find corresponding solutions. Fig. 12 illustrates the cate-
gories of these challenges.
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Table 2
Problems and proposed solutions for each study.
Reference Problem
[1] A malicious user can obtain information about the relationships of users, assume
their interests and pretend to be them for cheating other people.
[2] How to secure video and audio in the network is not known.
[3] The current authentication schemes in computer systems require human
cognitive ability to remember numerous complex ID and password or rely on a
trusted third party, possibly failing due to technical failure or denial-of-service
attacks.
[4] The security of electronic vehicles is not enhanced during internet charging,
[7] User data and metadata are not secured in the network nodes (online data store).
[8] Way of authentication using external cloud services and mobile resource
management without a cloud server (MRM) to merge computing and storage
resources of the integrated mobile devices is not identified.
[10] User privacy is not protected.
[11] A huge number of terminal devices are interconnected via Cloud radio access
network. Hence to enhance the services in 5 G area of IoT, centralised access
authentication is used. However, cost of network is added. Therefore, an
authentic mechanism cannot be provided to achieve high level of security of
services.
[12] IoT devices are used to manipulate authentication and information in electricity
meters as well as counterfeit and modification of data and faults in computation
of charges.
[13] In IoT, extra attention is given to the security of vehicular networks and focused
on data authentication and integrity, which are not enough to estimate the
credibility of coming messages.
[14] For managing the inside of the house, privacy and security in smart homes
involve communication between IoT devices and the external cloud server with
the Internet or gateway. Smart homes also involve communication with other
devices (such as the user's smartphone). Therefore, the secure transmission of
smart home messages is essential to prevent any attack.
[15] The limitations of today's smart city network such as high latency, bandwidth
bottlenecks, security and privacy, and scalability arise in the current smart city
network architecture.
[16] The problem lies in how to ensure privacy and security as well as SPOF in
centralised systems. Moreover, untraditional properties of IoT such as
heterogeneity, scalability and mobility need new identity management systems to
be implemented in distributed and trustless environments.
[17] The shortcomings of the use of public key certificates, such as existential forgery
on adaptively chosen message and ID attack under the random oracle mode,
should be addressed.
[18] The further use and development of IOT is impeded by privacy and security
concerns in IOT.
[19] The existing DMM solutions can provide smooth handovers in modern fog
network architectures due to IoT applications and 5 G communications
technologies. However, they need robustness from a security perspective. DMM
depends on external mechanisms and uses a centralised device which affects the
level of security, where hierarchical dependencies can introduce problems.
[20] All devices in IOT need to authenticate from one other. They also need to achieve
data integrity during communication and provide resistance against malicious
users and tamper use.
[21] Energy distribution model between producer and consumer data is prone to
modification and misuse. If a consumer moves from one producer to another,
then the issues related to energy transactions and losses need to be addressed
alongside security aspects such as information tampering.
[22] Security and privacy issues exist in digital healthcare ecosystem.
[23] Data during communication and collaborative decision making should be
ensured. Hence, barriers to efficient information exchange are created and
impede effective treatment decision for patients.
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
Solution
Blockchain algorithm was designed to propose an authentication protocol which
can protect the privacy information of a user in the social community detection.
Considering user with high closeness, the authentication procedure used
encrypting and hashing function to enhance the security level.
A decentralised system based on blockchain was proposed to distribute the digital
content.
A fully distributed user authentication framework with the blockchain
technology was designed. In this scheme, the identity of a user is stored in the
blockchain. The user's encrypted personal information is stored in an off-
blockchain storage and attaches a smart contract which grants different
permissions to each website/application.
LNCS was proposed to address the security issue using lightning network and
smart contract in the blockchain ecosystem.
A decentralised online storage scheme is proposed on the basis of open P2P
network.
SAMS was proposed to achieve the mobile device authentication using
blockchain technology for reliable resource information in these devices.
To authenticate and manage the privacy of users securely, a digital signature
mechanism was proposed. BC gateway was proposed as well. The BC gateway
serves as an intermediary between users and IoT devices.
5 G architecture of BTA and BAA scheme in cloud radio over fibre network were
proposed. SDN testbed was used to evaluate the efficiency of this architecture.
A smart meter using a block chain was proposed.
Reputation vehicular networks system that uses blockchain technology was
proposed to give the vehicles the ability of estimating received messages on the
basis of historical messages broadcasted from specific vehicle.
A secure smart home authentication and group key and key management were
proposed on the basis of multi-solution chain to provide confidentiality.
Hybrid network architecture is proposed for the smart city to achieve efficiency
and address the current limitations. The strength of distributed and centralised
network architectures is inherited by this architecture.
BIFIT was proposed. It can be implemented in smart home environment for
identity self-management by end users. The signatures of the individuals are
autonomously extracted using this framework with blockchain. Moreover,
appliances’ signatures (low level identities) and owners’ identities are connected
to use them in the authentication of credentials and to ensure that the behaviours
of all IoT entities are normal.
A new ID-based linear homomorphic signature scheme was constructed.
An authentication system was designed, and enabling technologies were
determined.
A new blockchain-based DMM which can resolve hierarchical security issues was
proposed. It can perform this function without the network layer being affected.
It also fully satisfies distributed security requirements with less consumption of
energy.
Bubbles of trust system was proposed. It enables the devices to be efficiently
identified and authenticated. Moreover, it saves the data integrity and
availability.
In the solution, electrical transactions embedded in blockchain are validated
using the signatures of multiple producers. The public and private keys for these
consumers are generated by the producers and endorsement procedure using
these keys, thereby ensuring that these consumers are authorised.
Ledger technologies were used as a key player in advancing electronic health,
thereby ensuring authenticity and integrity of data generated by wearable and
embedded devices. The solution enable patients to define granular access controls
that can be updated over time using the MAM module of the IOTA protocol.
To provide a collaborative clinical decision support for patients, FHIRChain
prototype was designed using blockchain technology and the FHIR data
standards. The FHIRChain was used together with public key cryptography. It
addresses five key requirements provided by the ONC interoperability roadmap,
that I, user identifiability and authentication, secure data exchange, permissioned
data access, consistent data formats and system modularity.
(continued on next page)
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Table 2 (continued)
Reference Problem
[24] Data should be collected from wearable sensors in healthcare environments in
high level of security and integrity.
[25] Regarding security issues, the authentication from patient locations is important
in healthcare environments.
[26] Centralised authentication protocols used for MEO/GEO satellite networks cannot
accommodate LEO satellites with frequent user connection switching.
[27] Cloud interoperability is required.
[28] Secure and fair payment of outsourcing services is absent in general without
relying on any third-party (trusted or not).
[29] Vehicles authentication is required in roads.
[30] Mobile user authentication is needed.
[31] Wi-Fi hotspots which are installed at several places are prone to malicious use by
illegal users because most communications are not encrypted.
[32] In Industry 4.0 applications, the security of information considers critical
problem. Much vulnerability appears in manufacturing (e.g. hardware Trojans
and backdoors). Therefore, address these risks is difficult.
[33] All the card companies need extra evidence of identity before permitting a
transaction.
[34] In cellular networks, when the carrier personally provides identifiable
information for individual setup, the risk of profiling increases. Therefore,
authorisation, authentication and accountability of network access implemented
in conventional cellular networks are inadequate in the cognitive space because
they are neither spontaneous nor scalable.
[35] An authentication for undirected graphs (authentication of non-existent graph
edges) is a problem.
[36] Service providers experience unconditional anonymity due to similarity among
the anonymous users, Hence, no way is available for deciding which user is
responsible for the specific action during the system working.
4.3.1. Challenges related to privacy
Most security systems which have privacy challenges often use
blockchain to achieve a high level of privacy. In blockchain, authenti-
cation of users involves the identification of the users using hash values
and the public key. Anonymity is not guaranteed because all transac-
tions are shared. Sharing of transactions makes the analysis of such
transactions easy for third parties to derive the true identities of the
individuals.
The privacy issue in an IoT environment is complex because the
data of a private individual can be revealed. Blockchain can be used to
store the data when the privacy conditions vary from country to an-
other. Blockchain transactions are confronted with privacy challenge.
Specifically, stored information is supposedly anonymous but practi-
cally accessible by third parties. The addition of a blockchain compli-
cates the system due to the sharing of transactions among peers in
specific fields, such as financial systems or industry which monitors
activities [6]. For instance, when using blockchain in IoT field and
chain to store the information on device or data authentication, the
operation of proof-of-work or address search might leak user data [12].
The decentralised consensus is generated on the basis of the public
availability of previous transaction data and the pseudonymous dis-
closure of the related transacting parties. Thus, the issue of privacy
protection becomes a specific challenge [38].
4.3.2. Challenges related to security
The assertion that blockchains can permanently store data without
alterations is practically not true in terms of the preservation of in-
tegrity in rare cases. Therefore, data stored in blockchain should be
reliable, secure and accurate [6,38]. Availability is an attribute of se-
curity that is easily achieved by using blockchains because this archi-
tecture allows the nodes to work using distributed systems, even when a
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Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
Solution
New healthcare system architecture was proposed for data exchange. It enables
this system to collect patient data from multiple nodes or wearable sensors using
blockchain technology.
Using order-preserving encryption and Merkle tree, BMPLS was proposed to
achieve the privacy-preserving location sharing on the basis of blockchain for
telecare medical information systems.
BAVP was proposed by combining identity-based encryption (IBE) and
decentralised blockchain technology. Two different key management schemes
with IBE and blockchain were investigated, thereby enhancing the authentication
reliability and efficiency in LEO constellation.
Using JWT and blockchain, an end-to-end authentication mechanism was
proposed.
BCPay was introduced. It is a blockchain-based fair payment framework for
outsourcing services in cloud computing
Blockchain was used to keep track of each vehicle's certificate (valid or revoked).
Blockchain technology was used to introduce a new IDaaS for digital identity
management.
A new authentication method of Wi-Fi access points was proposed using Bitcoin
2.0. This method uses blockchain and saved logs of user access. Bitcoin address
can be used as encryption keys for communications.
Hierarchical framework using blockchain was proposed. This framework consists
of four layers which permit efficient implementation of a flexible and
reconfigurable smart factory and achieve a secure and mutual authentication
A CIMA architecture which uses context as a shared secret between the mobile
device and the enterprise was proposed, thereby enabling efficient setup of one-
time session encryption keys and mutual authentication
A blockchain technology was used to propose a user identity management
system. The system ensures privacy and gives priority to attribution and
anonymity whilst supporting end-to-end management from user assertion to
usage billing.
TCUGA scheme was introduced.
An authentication scheme based on Wi-Fi hotspot access was proposed to provide
accountability without any dependence on any trusted third party. This solution
is derived from the concept of Bitcoin techniques.
few nodes are prone from attacks. However, availability can be com-
promised during different kinds of attacks. Majority attack means that
51% attack have been done from the total number of nodes. This attack
is the most dangerous type. In this kind of attack, the entire chain can
be controlled by a single miner, and this miner can perform any kind of
transaction. In this situation, data are available. However, performing
transactions might be impossible because the attacker can block the
transactions. Obviously, the integrity of the data can be affected by this
kind of attack [1,6,9,39]. The 51% attack is the most common kind [5].
Additionally, security which is associated with the personal key used in
encryption is the most crucial aspect of blockchain. Several kinds of
attacks, such as the reuse attack, are attempted by an attacker to gain
access to the personal key, which is stored in a peer's device, and to
hack Bitcoin. Blockchain accounts can be compromised by exploiting
the private keys with limited randomness to ensure the privacy of
transactions and prevent race attacks which may cause double spending
during transactions. Apart from these problems, several other problems
can be caused by blockchain such as those related to the security of
transactions, software and wallet. Many studies have been conducted in
an attempt to solve these problems [43,44].
4.3.3. Challenges related to implementation and evaluation
Challenges related to implementation and evaluation of using
blockchain technology may arise when the blockchain network system
needs to perform large numbers of transactions per any time unit. This
challenge represents the limitation in certain types of networks. The
largest number the Bitcoin's blockchain can perform is 7 transactions
per second, and this blockchain takes a long time for processing these
transactions. In case of Bitcoin, block creation times follow a Poisson
distribution with a 10-min mean [6,39]. Moreover, a striking closeness
exists between human populations and the number of cellular
A.H. Mohsin et al. Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60

Fig. 9. Implementation of blockchain technology in different fields.

Fig. 10. Capabilities of blockchain technology.

56
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Fig. 11. Categories of motivations to use blockchain technology.
connections. Each is estimated at around 7.5 billion. Although the
number of machines at the moment is estimated to be only 300 million,
the number will triple by 20, possibly becoming over one billion. Also
around the same time, an aggregate of 8.9 billion cellular connections
around the globe is expected, thereby achieving a penetration rate of
1.14 per capita. This increase might cause a carrier to be furnished with
personally identifiable information for user setup, thereby increasing
the risk of profiling in cognitive cellular networks [34]. In the case of
using blockchain in smart contracts, the smart contracts cannot trigger
themselves. Instead, they need serious intervention. Therefore, self-
execution must be triggered by another contract, an artificial or human
user. Integrating real world human interactions with a closed block-
chain-based ecosystem is challenging without a trusted interface [38].
4.3.4. Challenges related to memory capacity
The challenges related to memory capacity when the use of block-
chain is employed during implementation are discussed in this section.
The storage capacity and the scalability of blockchain have been deeply
questioned. In this technology, storage ability is required because the
Fig. 12. Categories of challenges in using blockchain technology.
57
Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
chain in Bitcoin is constantly growing at a rate of 1 MB per block every
10 min. Additional resources are required by nodes as the size in-
creases, thereby causing a reduction in the capacity scale of the system.
Furthermore, the performance of a system can be negatively influenced
by an oversized chain. For example, this increases the synchronisation
time of new users [5].
The growth of block is periodic because it occurs as users store their
transactions. This growth causes a long initial download time, and the
need to utilise miners that are powerful with large and stable memories.
The computational resources are wasted because large amounts of data
that are not relevant to nodes are being stored in them [6]. Another
issue in this context is scalability. The blockchain is immutable, so a
growing list of the blocks must be maintained. In 16 December 2016,
the size of Bitcoin blockchain was 100 GB and is still growing. In terms
of block size, e.g. asking about the number of transactions which has
been contented in one block. Most blockchain implementations have
attempted to improve the transactions per second [30].
4.3.5. Challenges related to the infrastructure
For the blockchain to function properly, certain elements should be
made available. These elements include communication protocols, de-
centralised storage, mining hardware and network administration or
address management. The industry is progressively fulfilling a few of
these requirements and creating specific equipment for blockchain
applications [6].
4.3.6. Challenges related to legal rules
In the case of currencies, legal implication can have a direct and
negative effect on blockchain applications in virtual currencies. Hence,
it is an important aspect that cannot be underestimated. Many countries
have begun to develop laws guiding the usage of virtual currencies due
to the unavailability of laws governing virtual currency transactions.
This situations have produced many uncertainties and may be the re-
cent cause for the recent decline in virtual currencies [5]. Although the
full legal implications of blockchain are unknown, new legal issues are
raised as a result of using distributed ledger. The legal issues that arise
are in terms of accountability for the documents, such as data storage
and information extraction from the blockchain record (ledger) as well
as implications of compromised data integrity, security and accuracy.
A.H. Mohsin et al.
Therefore, this is useful in terms of identity because although effec-
tively applying national data protection legislation in the blockchain
context is impossible, a citizen has the right to identity according to
international law. Therefore, the law can be used to secure this identity
in case of loss of an effective national data protection law for e-residents
[41].
4.4. General future studies suggested by authors
Whilst reviewing the literature, suggestions for future studies made
by authors were found, and they are presented in this section.
4.4.1. Regarding applications
The first step required in combining blockchain with IoT is identi-
fying which blockchains fits the requirement. In this manner, the en-
cryption algorithm is improved, thereby enhancing the security of so-
cial networks [1]. The author in study [6] stated that a mechanism that
can be used in testing various blockchains for application in different
areas should be established and optimised. Moreover, this author also
recommended the need for the improvement of security in protocol
framework. These authors proposed to make adjustments to the
blockchain structure. In addition, planning is required to have a general
methodology for the authentication of IoT applications and services and
to evaluate performance, overhead and scalability of authentication
using blockchain technology. Future studies should focus on the re-
formation of blockchain technology on the basis of specific satellite
network routing algorithm. Innovation and reformation of many cen-
tralised applications, such as social applications and third-party pay-
ment, can be done on the basis of the distributed public key infra-
structure (DPKI) [26].
4.4.2. Regarding implementation
Efforts of future research should be geared towards addressing the
design of trusted interfaces with the aim of facilitating the successful
implementation of online and offline platforms that are based on
blockchains. An issue that is a great challenge for future work is
overcoming the problem of trust and using methods that do not rely on
trusted third parties. This challenge may offer a business opportunity to
platform operators. Finally, in the presence of memory constraints,
resolving multi-blockchain dependencies is mandatory. This resolve can
be performed by moving towards network architectures with no
managing authority. However, these architectures also are also limited
by challenges, such as record management and tracking and service
charging policies, which need to be further explored [19].
Fig. 13. Categories of recommendations for using blockchain technology.
58
Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
4.4.3. Regarding testing and evaluation
In study [23], a plan to improve the simulations of the FHIRChain
was proposed by the authors to enable a thorough evaluation of the
FHIRChain prototype performance. In this study, comparison and de-
ployment different configurations of blockchain were proposed within
the work environment, such as the blockchain template provided by
Amazon Web Services. To identify management of patients, the authors
explored the techniques. Future research is also recommended to un-
derstand the perception which consumers have of blockchain-based
platforms in terms of trust-building. Conceptualisation and develop-
ment of sufficient instruments of measuring trust in blockchain-based
algorithms should be addressed in future studies. High level of accuracy
in the discussion and precision of the concept of trust can then be
achieved [38].
4.4.4. Regarding security
Effective mechanisms which can be used in ensuring the privacy of
transactions and avoiding race attacks that may cause double spending
during transactions are yet to be defined [43]. For example, gateways
that are used in IoT systems which rely on blockchains should be se-
cured. They do not need to be protected them from malicious or un-
trusted gateways. Many privacy threats are related to public distributed
ledgers in a system that uses blockchain. On this basis, blockchains
which enable the preservation of privacy, such as Z-Cash, should be
studied. Future studies should focus on addressing the issues of scal-
ability and efficiency which are great problems at the moment [18].
Future studies should also study blockchain application in emergency
situations in telemedicine wherein a patient is rushed to an emergency
room in distress or unconscious. Healthcare professionals should be
able to obtain the patient's health data. The patient does not have to
remember or provide an authorisation key. A group of researchers have
proposed to address this issue by exploring secure biometric solutions,
such as iris, palm vein and voice scanners [22].
4.4.5. Regarding transaction cost
The cost of blockchain implementation in any system is crucial.
Therefore, to solve the problems caused by Bitcoin property, such as
confirmation time and transaction fee, a new blockchain derived from
Bitcoin adapted to the present method is proposed [31].
4.5. Recommendations
On the basis of the systematic review, we briefly provide the readers
with recommendations. The recommendations are meant to alleviate
the challenges which designers and developers encounter. We also
A.H. Mohsin et al.
provide them with a robust and accurate system. This system is de-
signed using blockchain technology. It satisfies the needs of organisa-
tions, companies and governments in terms of an information system
with high level of security. These recommendations are categorised into
groups according to their audience. The readers can then understand
each type of audience, as illustrated in Fig. 13.
4.5.1. Recommendations to researchers
In this section, recommendations for researchers are given. In study
[6], the authors recommended that techniques of blockchain com-
pression should be further explored. Future studies need to address the
security issues present in the current devices and networks as well as
the other issues that may arise during integrations. Such studies are
needed because the current solutions are inadequate to address these
crucial security issues [32]. However, Bitcoin protocol by nature of its
design does not enforce privacy. On this basis, efforts have been made
to provide strong and efficient anonymity features in Bitcoin. However,
not only virtual currencies need high level of privacy in the chain but
also many other applications that are based on public blockchain
technology, especially those handling sensitive data. Thus, further re-
search should be conducted to ensure security and privacy of critical
technologies such as IoT and blockchain [5]. Furthermore, apart from
smart environments, other applications may use blockchain as a digital
identity solution. The possibility of using smart contracts, licensing and
IoT in a blockchain environment needs to be researched [40]. Finally,
location privacy is represented as fundamental security requirement for
providing the services to the specific location. Any leakage in location
information should be prevented. For instance, two studies are related
to epidemic spread on the basis of specific data. The first research
analyses the distribution of infectious diseases in a country. The second
research considers the distribution of these diseases in the world. The
aforementioned studies have different requirements on location
privacy. Therefore, a required property for location sharing is multi-
level privacy protection. [25].
4.5.2. Recommendations to governments and companies
Recommendations are given to companies and governments be-
cause they require high level of security for their information systems.
In terms of blockchain infrastructure, they should construct a detailed
reliable framework or infrastructure which can satisfy all requirements
for using blockchain in IoT environment. Although many recent ap-
proaches solve such trust issues, many of these approaches rely on inter-
domain policies and monitoring. For instance, governments can assist
use cases of general interest by setting up a blockchain infrastructure
[6]. Moreover, the focus should be on the general procedure which
achieves the privacy on the basis of blockchain. Stakeholders (users)
should undergo training courses to increase their investment. Com-
mercial certifiers, such as accountants, city inspectors, lawyers and
notaries, should be ensured to feel comfortable when using this tech-
nology. If the governments and the private companies aim to develop
new and transformative technologies such as blockchain, then they
should provide money and infrastructure develop the blockchain-based
solutions; as a result, cyber security can be strengthened, and privacy is
secure [9]. With regard to companies, one of the most important con-
cerns in an Industry 4.0 implementation is security because detecting
the vulnerabilities introduced during manufacturing (e.g. hardware
Trojans and backdoors) can be difficult. Furthermore in comparison to
the traditional internet and electronic commerce applications, a smart
factory can be vulnerable as a result of broad and diverse attack vectors.
Future research should be conducted this area to explore how the
performance of blockchain in Industry 4.0 using hardware im-
plementation can be optimised. Such a research should also focus on
how blockchain can be used together with smart factory operator for
implementation and evaluation of the proposed prototype (most prob-
ably a hybrid hardware and software based prototype) in a real-world
setting [32]. V2V communication on road depends on a central node to
59
Computer Standards & Interfaces 64 (2019) 41–60
make the decision on issuing and revoking of certificate. This commu-
nication in turn introduces a SPOF and jeopardises the safety of mo-
torists. Therefore, public policies on privacy protection should be pro-
vided to address this issue by training key stakeholders whilst
increasing the investment in technology in this area [29].
4.5.3. Recommendations to developers
Structural scalability is another challenge confronting the smart city
network. In this system, growth of the system is allowed as needed; the
system does not require making changes to the network architecture
[15]. Digital identity services of companies and governments should be
developed by building a platform that allows this extension. Companies
and governments can use the platform. Developers should also increase
the internet infrastructure to enhance its ability for handling large scale
data in IoT systems [40]. This increase can be achieved through dis-
tributed or decentralised networks such as peer-to-peer networking,
distributed file sharing and autonomous device coordination. These
functions can be performed with blockchain, thereby allowing a large
number of connected and networked devices to be tracked by IoT sys-
tems [45]. Furthermore, excessive memory may be used by multiple
ledgers as a solution to redundant memory requirements. The perfor-
mance of the system may be affected by using excessive memory. Thus,
controlled operations must be performed for memory consumption
[19].
4.5.4. Recommendations to merchants
Recommendations for merchants using this technology concerns
latency. The processing time for blockchain transactions is long. For
instance, in Bitcoin, block construction times follow a Poisson dis-
tribution with a 10 min mean. The time helps in preventing double
spending. However, merchants are required to stay for almost one hour
because 5 to 6 blocks are added to the chain before proving the
transaction. Nonetheless, only few seconds are required for VISA [6].
4.6. Study limitations
The first limitation of this systematic review is the number of the
source databases. The selected databases are the most reliable sample of
sources related to the research topic of this study. In addition, the use of
blockchain technology to achieve authentication of individuals and
device do not necessarily reflect the reality of its application or its ef-
fectiveness. Nevertheless, this research reflects the response of the re-
search community to the trend especially in the current year (2018), as
discussed in Section 3.2.1. Finally, the rapid progress in this field hardly
allows for any timelines in literature review. Articles from 1 September
2018 onwards were excluded.
4.7. Future research directions
In the near future, we plan to address various emergency situations,
including normal cases as well as when the patient reaches the emer-
gency section unconscious or in distress and when the patient is in his/
her location but need telemedicine services. Healthcare providers
should be able to access patients’ activity data without the patient re-
membering or providing an authorisation key. Moreover, patients
should be able to access health services from their location through
telemedicine system and services. They should be able to access the
systems using finger vein verification, which is integrated with block-
chain. Physicians, patients and other employees can be authenticated in
the telemedicine system.
5. Conclusion
This review examined blockchain technology as a state-of-the-art
technology and provided a systematic review of blockchain regarding
decentralised authentication. The blockchain technology was
A.H. Mohsin et al.
investigated. The problems of data storage, communication, key ex-
change and other problems related to authentication were discussed.
The research methodology and search query used in the selection of the
final set of articles were described. On the basis of the systematic re-
view, 2013 has the least publications on blockchain technology,
whereas 2018 has the highest number of publications. Of the published
articles, 53% were from IEEE, whereas Web of Science has the smallest
published articles among selected databases with 22.2%. This study
aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of the existing studies for
providing insight into the taxonomy, significance of use, and challenges
of blockchain technology in authentication and recommendations to
facilitate its effective use. This paper is expected to be a starting point
for further studies and discussions on the adoption and implementation
of blockchain for digital identity in system authentication.
Acknowledgment
We are grateful to the editors and reviewers for their invaluable
suggestions, specially the reviewers for their efforts, comments and
suggestions on this study.
Supplementary materials
Supplementary material associated with this article can be found, in
the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.csi.2018.12.002.
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