Which authentication method to choose. A legal perspective on user-device authentication in IoT ecosystems
Cristina Timón López, Ignacio Alamillo Domingo, Julián Valero Torrijos · 2021
The IoT has raised a set of challenges due to the enormous amount of data processed and the complex implementation of mechanisms to guarantee these data are exclusively accessed by authorized users. In these ecosystems some devices represent a first “access door” to data obtained from other sources or stored in the Cloud. Consequently, there is a particular need to introduce strong authentication mechanisms that limit unauthorized accesses to thereof. The aim of this paper is to offer a legal perspective on the forces tensioning in the most common authentication methods implemented in these devices, account taken of the particularities of an IoT ecosystem. Due to the topic subject of discussion, it is necessary to lay the technological ground in order to perform a subsequent legal analysis. The conclusions attempt to answer which authentication method achieves a better balance on the forces tensioning in digital identity as well as offering some lines for further research and development in the area.