Blockchain-Enabled Dual-Layer Authentication Framework for Securing Water Supply Chains

Abstract

The water supply chain is vulnerable to risks such as unauthorized usage and identity impersonation. Traditional solutions lack transparency, tamper resistance, and scalability, making them unsuitable for multi-stakeholder environments. To address these challenges, our paper presents BEDLAM, a Blockchain-Enabled Dual-Layer Authentication Model framework, designed to secure water supply chain operations. The framework employs two complementary authentication layers, namely, (i) a blockchain-based identity management layer that provides verifiable stakeholder authentication while leveraging Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and (ii) a smart contract-based verification layer that regulates access control, service allocation, and transaction validation among multiple entities. The first layer of BEDLAM is implemented on the Mina Blockchain, via the Auro Wallet, and evaluated by using Tinkercad-based circuit simulations. The second layer is implemented using smart contracts to ensure user access control. Our proposed system ensures cryptographic data verification with finality, achieving a latency of 153 ms and generating tamper-proof records. Sensor data are processed on resource-constrained IoT devices, producing compliance proofs. Multiple simulations involving batch users demonstrate linear scalability (average proof time of 26 s per user, 0.038 transactions per second) and significant stability. The success rate of transactions is 99.3% with exponential back-off retries under 40% simulated packet loss.