Distributed ledger-based authentication and authorization for Industrie 4.0 components

Abstract

In the connected world of Industrie 4.0, not only the access to information becomes more and more important, but also secure, standardized, and machine-interpretable communication between assets. The identification of assets forms the basis for all emerging processes, which leads to new requirements. The authors developed a concept to establish the identity of Industrie 4.0 components in decentralized systems by providing a decentralized identity and access management based on distributed ledger technology and integrated this into the concept of the Industrie 4.0 language. The use of decentralized identifiers guarantees more security and reliability for the involved actors in the value chain. Thus, authentication and authorization can be carried out solely between the involved actors without the use of centralized identity providers or certification authorities.