Blockchain-driven smart contract with key exchange protocol for secure device-to-device communication using verkle tree K-ary structures

In the rapidly evolving landscape of wireless communication, the traditional model of data exchange predominantly relies on a centralized infrastructure, where all communications, even between nearby devices, are routed through a base station (BS) and potentially the core network. Device-to-device (D2D) communication emerges as a transformative paradigm that challenges this conventional model. The concept of D2D communication has gained considerable traction, especially with the advent of 4G LTE and its crucial role in 5G and beyond. D2D aims to unlock numerous benefits, including improved spectral efficiency, increased throughput, reduced latency, enhanced energy efficiency, and better network offloading. In this paper, we focus on secure D2D communication using D2D-ECDH key exchange protocol with blockchain smart contracts along with blockchain Verkle tree data structure. This approach helps to improve secure communication between IoT devices and avoids Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks, replay attacks, and central points of failure. The Verkle tree approach provides a smaller proof size to verify the root commitment value compared to the traditional Merkle tree data structure. The simulation has been executed in both Python and Solidity coding. Python has executed in VS Code generator, and Solidity code has executed in Remix IDE, Ethereum network V0.65.0. The Remix IDE was developed in Ganache V2.7.1 for blockchain smart contracts. Compared to the traditional Merkle tree approach, the Verkle tree provides less proof size up to 33 times.