Authenticating a device based on communication patterns in a group of devices

A computer-implemented method of a receiving device for authentication, comprising operations for:

• receiving a first communication from a requesting device of a plurality of devices in an internet of things network that includes the receiving device;
• determining whether the first communication matches an accepted communication pattern;
• in response to determining that the first communication matches the accepted communication pattern,
• generating an authentication score for the requesting device based on how closely the first communication matches with the accepted communication pattern;
• authenticating the receiving device and the requesting device as an authenticated cluster;
• and
• responding to the first communication;
• in response to determining that the first communication does not match the accepted communication pattern, flagging the first communication as an anomaly;
• receiving a second communication from the requesting device;
• based on whether the receiving device and the requesting device are in the authenticated cluster and based on the authentication score of the requesting device, determining whether to respond to the second communication.

A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by at least one processor of a receiving device, to perform operations for:

• receiving a first communication from a requesting device of a plurality of devices in an internet of things network that includes the receiving device;
• determining whether the first communication matches an accepted communication pattern;
• in response to determining that the first communication matches the accepted communication pattern,
• generating an authentication score for the requesting device based on how closely the first communication matches with the accepted communication pattern;
• authenticating the receiving device and the requesting device as an authenticated cluster;
• and
• responding to the first communication;
• in response to determining that the first communication does not match the accepted communication pattern, flagging the first communication as an anomaly;
• receiving a second communication from the requesting device;
• based on whether the receiving device and the requesting device are in the authenticated cluster and based on the authentication score of the requesting device, determining whether to respond to the second communication.

A receiving device, comprising:

• one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories and one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;
• and
• program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories to perform operations comprising:
• receiving a first communication from a requesting device of a plurality of devices in an internet of things network that includes the receiving device;
• determining whether the first communication matches an accepted communication pattern;
• in response to determining that the first communication matches the accepted communication pattern,
• generating an authentication score for the requesting device based on how closely the first communication matches with the accepted communication pattern;
• authenticating the receiving device and the requesting device as an authenticated cluster;
• and
• responding to the first communication;
• in response to determining that the first communication does not match the accepted communication pattern, flagging the first communication as an anomaly;
• receiving a second communication from the requesting device;
• based on whether the receiving device and the requesting device are in the authenticated cluster and based on the authentication score of the requesting device, determining whether to respond to the second communication.