Ultra-lightweight blockchain-enabled RFID authentication protocol for supply chain in the domain of 5G mobile edge computing

Traditional radio frequency identification (RFID) research mainly focused on enhancing the security of RFID protocol in different RFID applications like supply chains based on a centralized database. Secure and transparent transmission of goods is one of the prime issues in the supply chain management system. Bandwidth is the essential factor that affects the safe transition of goods in the supply chain. To fulfil bandwidth requirements, the 5G-enabled Internet of Things is a solution in the domain of Mobile edge computing. To successfully fill this gap, we present a secure, efficient ultra-lightweight blockchain-enabled RFID authentication protocol suitable for a supply chain in the field of 5G with mobile edge computing named ULBRAPS. Next, Blockchain is the core technology that provides data security, transparency, and scalability and prevents counterfeiting in supply chain management. Our proposed ULBRAPS comprises a one-way cryptographic secure hash function, bit-by-bit exclusive-or (XOR), and bit-by-bit rotation operation. Besides this, intensive security analysis of the presented protocol is performed on the extensively accepted AVISPA tool, confirming that ULBRAPS is secure. Eventually, ULBRAPS is proven outstanding efficient, safe, and has better computational and communication costs than other relevant protocols.