Secure and privacy-preserving quantum authentication scheme using blockchain identifiers in metaverse environment

Abstract

The metaverse, a collection of virtual worlds offering a variety of social activities mirroring real-life interactions, is garnering increasing attention. Consequently, the need to ensure security and privacy within these spaces has become paramount. Metaverse users can create multiple avatars, a feature that can be exploited to deceive or threaten others, leading to significant internal security concerns. Additionally, users in the metaverse are susceptible to several external security threats due to the public nature of their communications with service providers.To address these challenges, we propose a novel quantum authentication scheme leveraging blockchain technology, decentralized identifiers, and verifiable credentials. This scheme enables secure identity verification and authentication for metaverse users. By allowing users to independently prove their identity without relying on service providers, the proposed approach mitigates privacy concerns associated with the management of personal information. Furthermore, our scheme achieves mutual authentication between the user and the service provider, while also being resilient against a variety of attacks, including unconditional security breaches, replay attacks, eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and impersonation attempts. With a computation time of 17.4608 ms and a communication cost of 872 bits, the suggested protocol outperforms current solutions and provides superior security for the metaverse environment during data transmission and storage. Furthermore, we examine the operational capabilities and security features using the latest technology and techniques.