Security Aspects of Blockchain Technology Intended for Industrial Applications

DIdM-EIoTD: Distributed Identity Management for Edge Internet of Things (IoT) Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm aims to enhance human society and living standards with the vast deployment of smart and autonomous devices, which requires seamless collaboration. The number of connected devices increases daily, introducing identity management requirements for edge IoT devices. Due to IoT devices' heterogeneity and resource-constrained configuration, traditional identity management systems are not feasible. As a result, identity management for IoT devices is still an open issue. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and blockchain-based security solutions are becoming popular in different application domains. This paper presents a novel DLT-based distributed identity management architecture for edge IoT devices. The model can be adapted with any IoT solution for secure and trustworthy communication between devices. We have comprehensively reviewed popular consensus mechanisms used in DLT implementations and their connection to IoT research, specifically identity management for Edge IoT devices. Our proposed location-based identity management model is generic, distributed, and decentralized. The proposed model is verified using the Scyther formal verification tool for security performance measurement. SPIN model checker is employed for different state verification of our proposed model. The open-source simulation tool FobSim is used for fog and edge/user layer DTL deployment performance analysis. The results and discussion section represents how our proposed decentralized identity management solution should enhance user data privacy and secure and trustworthy communication in IoT.

A Comprehensive Review of Blockchain Technology-Enabled Smart Manufacturing: A Framework, Challenges and Future Research Directions

As a new generation of information technology, blockchain plays an important role in business and industrial innovation. The employment of blockchain technologies in industry has increased transparency, security and traceability, improved efficiency, and reduced costs of production activities. Many studies on blockchain technology-enabled system construction and performance optimization in Industry 4.0 have been carried out. However, blockchain technology and smart manufacturing have been individually researched in academia and industry, according to the literature. This survey aims to summarize the existing research to provide theoretical foundations for applying blockchain technology to smart manufacturing, thus creating a more reliable and authentic smart manufacturing system. In this regard, the literature related to four types of critical issues in smart manufacturing is introduced: data security, data sharing, trust mechanisms and system coordination issues. The corresponding blockchain solutions were reviewed and analyzed. Based on the insights obtained from the above analysis, a reference framework for blockchain technology-enabled smart manufacturing systems is put forward. The challenges and future research directions are also discussed to provide potential guides for achieving better utilization of this technology in smart manufacturing.

Blockchain Technology: A Panacea for IoT Security Challenge

The Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, despite the wide range of application is not without loop holes of which cyberattackers can take advantage. In order to improve the platform's security while also increasing other features, it has been proposed that blockchain technology be implemented in any IoT system. However, while blockchain technology has many advantages, it is important to consider other options because they all have their own drawbacks that may not be ideal for every use case situation. IoT network devices have limited computer power, storage space, and bandwidth. As a result, these systems are easily prone to assault than other network connected devices, such PCs, cell phones and tablets. With focus on IoT security challenges and the countermeasures offered by the blockchain technology, consensus algorithm, data encryption and smart contracts were discovered to be the common and effective algorithm employed by the blockchain technology in securing Iot systems over time.

Uncovering dimensions of the impact of blockchain technology in supply chain management

Supply chains around the globe are faced with difficulties and disruptions due to the worldwide pandemic situation and digital solutions are needed. There is significant research interest in the implementation of blockchain technology (BCT) for supply chain management (SCM). A challenge that remains is analyzing the interactions of BCT in different areas of SCM. This study aims to identify the influential dimensions of the impact of BCT adoption in SCM and to discuss the synergetic and counter-synergetic effects between these dimensions. Advantages, disadvantages, and constraints of adopting BCT in the SCM context are explored through a systematic literature review, which provides the foundation for identifying the dimensions of impact. The interactions between these dimensions are conceptually discussed. This study introduces three dimensions of the impact of implementing BCT in SCM: ‘operations and processes’, ‘supply chain relationships’, and ‘innovation and data access’. These dimensions are interrelated and have overlapping areas within them, which leads to synergetic and counter-synergetic effects. The overlaps and synergies of the three dimensions of impact are illustrated, and the virtuous and vicious cycles of BCT adoption in SCM cases are highlighted. This study assists scholars and practitioners by clarifying the synergetic relationships within the dimensions of the impact of BCT in SCM and by providing considerations to prevent undesirable effects and expand desired ones.

Blockchain Technology: Potential Applications for Public Sector E-Procurement and Project Management

Project implementations normally fail due to sustainable development problems that inhibit the usage levels required to facilitate successful implementations. This paper explores the successful implementation from a Bangladesh perspective. In particular, it identifies the possible applications of Blockchain in project procurement and management, and it develops a guideline for incorporating Blockchain into project management to improve the existing project and the procurement management practices in developing countries. This is a qualitative study with an interpretivist research methodology. By adopting an interpretive approach, this study construes knowledge as that only gained through social constructions, such as language, shared meanings, documents, industry reports, reviews of academic papers, and tools; it is a changing and relative phenomenon. This study reveals that developing countries are suffering in terms of the development of projects, including poor project management, a lack of transparency, poor procurement management, etc. A total of 38 issues were identified through this study, which are the main barriers to the successful implementation of public sector projects. One of the main reasons is due to the practice of awarding the lowest bidder during the procurement process due to the current regulatory requirements. This paper found that the Oracle platform, built on Blockchain technology as a cloud-computing platform, is one of the prominent E-procurement platforms that provides both the Blockchain platform and the cloud-based applications. Therefore, after observing and analysing the platform, it is found that Blockchain technology has the capability to resolve 25 issues out of 38 identified issues.

Land Registry Framework Based on Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) for Environmental Sustainability

Providing a system user with a unique and secure identity is a prerequisite for authentication and authorization aspects of a security system. It is generally understood that the existing digital identity systems store the identity details in centralized databases, and users store the identity details in centralized databases in which users do not have any control over them. These vulnerabilities in the traditional digital identities make them susceptible to various malicious assaults and modifications. Users’ personally identifiable information (PII) may leak through these identity solutions that can consequently affect other applications being used by the users, and they have no control over them. Land registration is a major domain of governance that defines civilians’ well-being and needs to be handled properly to avoid conflict and to support Environmental Sustainability. These traditional land registry applications also lack identity parameters due to weaknesses in identity solutions. A secure and reliable digital identity solution is the need of the hour. Self-sovereign identity (SSI), a new concept, is becoming more popular as a secure and reliable identity solution for users based on identity principles. SSI provides users with a way to control their personal information and consent for it to be used in various ways. In addition, the user’s identity details are stored in a decentralized manner, which helps to overcome the problems with digital identity solutions. This article reviews existing SSI solutions and analyzes them using SSI principles. It also assesses the SSI components required for constructing SSI frameworks that adhere to the SSI principles. Furthermore, it defines the procedures for establishing an SSI ecosystem, explores the laws governing digital identity that governments have adopted, and identifies SSI applications in several fields. Finally, a review of SSI applications in the domain of land registry systems is given in order to propose an SSI-based land registry framework for a secure and reliable land registry system.

Blockchain-Based IoT Devices in Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Through recent progress, the forms of modern supply chains have evolved into complex networks. The supply chain management systems face a variety of challenges. These include lack of visibility of the upstream party (Provider) to the downstream party (Client); lack of flexibility in the face of sudden variations in demand and control of operating costs; lack of reliance on safety stakeholders; ineffective management of supply chain risks. Blockchain (BC) is used in the supply chain to overcome the growing demands for items. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a profoundly encouraging innovation that can help companies observe, track, and monitor products, activities, and processes within their respective value chain networks. Research establishments and logical gatherings are ceaselessly attempting to answer IoT gadgets in supply chain management. This paper presents orderly writing on and reviewing of Blockchain-based IoT advances and their current usage. We discuss the smart devices used in this system and which device is the most appropriate in the supply chain. This paper also looks at future examination themes in blockchain-based IoT, referred to as the executive’s framework production network. The essential deliberate writing audit has been consolidated by surveying research articles circulated in highly reputable publications between 2016 and 2021. Lastly, current issues and challenges are present to provide researchers with promising future directions in IoT supply chain management systems.

Hyperledger Healthchain: Patient-Centric IPFS-Based Storage of Health Records

Blockchain-based electronic health system growth is hindered by privacy, confidentiality, and security. By protecting against them, this research aims to develop cybersecurity measurement approaches to ensure the security and privacy of patient information using blockchain technology in healthcare. Blockchains need huge resources to store big data. This paper presents an innovative solution, namely patient-centric healthcare data management (PCHDM). It comprises the following: (i) in an on-chain health record database, hashes of health records are stored as health record chains in Hyperledger fabric, and (ii) off-chain solutions that encrypt actual health data and store it securely over the interplanetary file system (IPFS) which is the decentralized cloud storage system that ensures scalability, confidentiality, and resolves the problem of blockchain data storage. A security smart contract hosted through container technology with Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus ensures patient privacy by verifying patient preferences before sharing health records. The Distributed Ledger technology performance is tested under hyper ledger caliper benchmarks in terms of transaction latency, resource utilization, and transaction per second. The model provides stakeholders with increased confidence in collaborating and sharing their health records.

IoT-Blockchain: Harnessing the Power of Internet of Thing and Blockchain for Smart Supply Chain

This study aims to build smart supply chains for the first time using the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain. Classification and clarification of causal relationships can provide a useful framework for researchers and professionals who seek to implement an intelligent supply chain using IoT tools in a blockchain platform, and it also demonstrates the intensity of communications indicating such relationships. The research methodology is mixed method, comprised of qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method includes the Delphi method used for selecting indigenous components and features proper for the pattern. The quantitative method is the Dematel method used for assessing the relationships between the available concepts in the pattern and accessing the network structure between components. Interpretative Structural Modeling is also employed to classify the network structure obtained from the Dematel technique. The findings of the study identify indicators of IoT and blockchain as causes based on Dematel, application of tools, components interconnectedness, optimal decision making, automatedness, integration, innovation and learning, which are indicators of smart supply chain, are the effects in this study.

Security, Privacy, and Reliability in Digital Healthcare Systems Using Blockchain

According to the security breach level index, millions of records are stolen worldwide on every single day. Personal health records are the most targeted records on the internet, and they are considered sensitive, and valuable. Security and privacy are the most important parameters of cryptography and encryption. They reduce the availability of data on patients and healthcare to the appropriate personnel and ultimately lead to a barrier in the transfer of healthcare into a digital health system. Using a permission blockchain to share healthcare data can reduce security and privacy issues. According to the literature, most healthcare systems rely on a centralized system, which is more prone to security vulnerabilities. The existing blockchain-based healthcare schemes provide only a data-sharing framework, but they lack security and privacy. To cope with these kinds of security issues, we have designed a novel security algorithm that provides security as well as privacy with much better efficiency and a lower cost. Hence, in this research, we have proposed a patient healthcare framework that provides greater security, reliability, and authentication compared to existing blockchain-based access control.

Credible Peer-to-Peer Trading with Double-Layer Energy Blockchain Network in Distributed Electricity Markets

Blockchain-based peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is one of the most viable solutions to incentivize prosumers in distributed electricity markets. However, P2P energy trading through an open-end blockchain network is not conducive to mutual credit and the privacy protection of stakeholders. Therefore, improving the credibility of P2P energy trading is an urgent problem for distributed electricity markets. In this paper, a novel double-layer energy blockchain network is proposed that stores private trading data separately from publicly available information. This blockchain network is based on optimized cross-chain interoperability technology and fully considers the special attributes of energy trading. Firstly, an optimized ring mapping encryption algorithm is designed to resist malicious nodes. Secondly, a consensus verification subgroup is built according to contract performance, consensus participation and trading enthusiasm. This subgroup verifies the consensus information through the credit-threshold digital signature. Thirdly, an energy trading model is embedded in the blockchain network, featuring dynamic bidding and credit incentives. Finally, the Erenhot distributed electricity market in China is utilized for example analysis, which demonstrates the proposed method could improve the credibility of P2P trading and realize effective supervision.