Blockchain as a catalyst for IoT security

Abstract

The proliferation of IoT devices has created a critical need for secure communication and ownership of these devices. Digital signatures and public-key infrastructures are the traditional solutions that may be vulnerable to attacks, especially in large-scale IoT deployments. To address these issues, recent breakthrough technologies in the 4^th Industrial Revolution are explored.  The proposed research attempts to find solutions to secure IoT devices through Blockchain technology. Among the typical attacks in IoT devices, two major attacks including authentication and device ownership are considered in the present study.  The former attack is handled by replacing the traditional credential stuffing approach with a more secure and user-friendly password-less login method through blockchain wallets. The latter attack is managed by implementing a smart contract in the Ethereum blockchain. In addition, novel approaches inspired by the works of Khalil et al 2023 and Arcenegui et al 2021 based on smart Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are explored. The proposed framework and solutions are beneficial for all stakeholders involved in IoT deployments, including device manufacturers, owners, and users. The proposed solution has several advantages for stakeholders, such as improved management of device identity, greater privacy and security, and lower expenses related to centralized management. Overall, the research proposes an optimistic approach for safeguarding IoT devices utilizing decentralized blockchain technology, which could promote a more secure and reliable IoT ecosystem.