While many resource-constrained networks, such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Vehicles (IoV), are inherently distributed, the majority still rely on central servers for fast authentication and data sharing. Blockchain-based solutions offer decentralized alternatives but often struggle to meet the stringent latency requirements of real-time applications. Even with the rollout of 5G, network latency between servers and peers remains a significant challenge. To address this, we introduce SWORD, a novel offline-first authentication and data-sharing scheme designed specifically for resource-constrained networks. SWORD utilizes a proximity-based clustering approach to enable offline authentication and data sharing, ensuring low-latency, secure operations even in intermittently connected scenarios. Our experimental results show that SWORD outperforms traditional blockchain-based solutions while offering similar resource efficiency and authentication latency to central-server-based solutions. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive security analysis, demonstrating that SWORD is resilient against spoofing, impersonation, replay, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

翻译：尽管许多资源受限网络（如物联网和车联网）本质上是分布式的，但大多数仍依赖中心服务器实现快速认证和数据共享。基于区块链的解决方案提供了去中心化替代方案，但往往难以满足实时应用的严格延迟要求。即使在5G网络部署的背景下，服务器与对等节点之间的网络延迟仍然是重大挑战。为此，我们提出SWORD——一种专为资源受限网络设计的新型离线优先认证与数据共享方案。SWORD采用基于邻近性的分簇方法实现离线认证与数据共享，确保在间歇性连接场景下仍能进行低延迟的安全操作。实验结果表明，SWORD在性能上优于传统基于区块链的解决方案，同时在资源效率和认证延迟方面与基于中心服务器的解决方案相当。此外，我们提供了全面的安全性分析，证明SWORD能够有效抵御欺骗、伪装、重放和中间人攻击。