Efficient Obfuscation for Encrypted Identity-Based Signatures in Wireless Body Area Networks

Abstract

The rapid development of the Internet of Things has contributed to the emergence of novel applications in recent years, such as wireless body area networks (WBANs). The latter can potentially provide people with convenience and high-quality healthcare. However, how to protect the confidentiality and privacy of user data remains challenging. Although a number of schemes using cryptographic tools in WBANs have been proposed, they are not practical due to the low computing power and storage capabilities of the sensors. To remedy this shortcoming, in this article, we propose an efficient obfuscation for encrypted identity-based signatures in WBANs, which can securely and efficiently use the resources of mobile devices to sign and encrypt data collected by sensors. In particular, our proposed scheme employs the identity-based signature scheme in the IEEE P1363 standard. We prove the security of our scheme, and that it satisfies the virtual black box properties. Moreover, we implement our scheme using the Java pairing-based cryptography library on a laptop and an Android phone. The experimental results the utility of our scheme in WBANs.