The Blockchain Random Neural Network for cybersecure IoT and 5G infrastructure in Smart Cities

• Published in: Journal of network and computer applications 2021-02, Vol.175, p.102909, Article 102909
• Main Author: Serrano, Will
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blockchain; Cybersecurity; Distributed ledger technology; Internet of things; Random neural network; Smart Cities
• ISSN: 1084-8045; 1095-8592
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnca.2020.102909

5G promises much faster Internet transmission rates at minimum latencies with indoor and outdoor coverage in Smart Cities. 5G could potentially replace traditional Wi-Fi for network connectivity and Bluetooth technology for geolocation with a seamless radio coverage and network backbone therefore accelerating new services such as the Internet of Things (IoT). Although Wi-Fi 6 is already in the market designed for IoT applications. New Smart City applications based on Big Data will depend on 5G as a mobile Internet service provider therefore eliminating the need to deploy additional private network infrastructure or mobile networks. The benefits due to the expanded network access and enhanced connectivity between devices also intrinsically increase cybersecurity risks. Cyber attackers will be provided with additional digital targets; in addition, wireless and mobile network including the access channel infrastructure will be shared between independent services. To address these cybersecurity issues, this article presents the Blockchain Random Neural Network for Cybersecurity applications in a holistic digital and physical cybersecurity user and channel authentication methods. The user identity is kept secret as the neural weights codify the user information, although in case of cybersecurity breach, the confidential identity can be mined and the attacker identified. The proposed method therefore enables a decentralized authentication method. The validation results prove that the addition of the Blockchain Random Neural Network provides a user access control algorithm with increased cybersecurity resilience and decentralized user access and connectivity.