Decentralizing Authentication for Mobile Networks: Opportunities and Challenges in Web 3.0 Era

The mobile network connectivity relies heavily on the authentication service (mostly authentication server function (AUSF) and unified data management (UDM)), which handles authentication requests for both 3GPP and untrusted non-3GPP networks. It mainly allows users to access mobile operator services to enable communication between computers on different networks. However, the centralization of AUSF service in a single location poses significant concerns for user security, privacy, and network accessibility. A small number of large AUSF servers increases the risks of data breaches and service disruptions in case of failures. There are also concerns about users' digital sovereignty when it comes to hosting personal data. To address this issue, this article proposes a Blockchain Network (BCN)-based Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) solution to distribute the centralization of authentication functionality in cellular networks and effectively increase users' digital sovereignty. We ran a set of numerical simulations to evaluate the different credential times of the various metrics for a given number of requests (ranging from fifty to one hundred thousand). At the end of the article, we explain the prospective constraints and viable remedies concerning the utilization of SSI for the advancement of security, privacy, trust, and interoperability within authentication frameworks in the Web 3.0 era.