Blockchain for Decentralized IoT Security: Protection Against Phishing and Data Breaches

By: Soo Nee Kee^1,2

¹Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

²International Center for AI and Cyber Security Research and Innovations, Asia University, Taiwan Email: nee.kee2001.nks@gmail.com

Abstract

In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) has grown rapidly, providing real-time monitoring and data analysis to various sectors. It automates many operational processes, eliminating human intervention. The security and privacy remain the major concerns of IoT ecosystems, it is exposed to data leakages, phishing attempts and single point of failure. IoT consists of a huge number of interconnected devices and every device can be an entry point for those security vulnerabilities, traditional security protections and humans are difficult to handle the heterogeneous cybersecurity attacks against the large number of devices or a huge amount of data on IoT devices. Phishing attacks, data breaches and unauthorized access must be mitigated. This paper discusses how blockchain can enhance the security of IoT ecosystems by providing a decentralized storage and secure data handling.

Keywords: Blockchain, Identity Management, Smart Contracts, IoT, Security, Phishing, Data Breaches

Introduction

Blockchain is a decentralized storage that stores data in a distributed manner, effectively preventing single point of failure while enhancing the transparency of the system. Every data will be stored in block and each block is connected via cryptographic chain, making it impossible to be altered or deleted. Any unauthorized changes can be tracked and recorded on blockchain. These immutable and traceable nature of the blockchain not only can prevent tampering of data, but also foster users’ trust. [1] Besides, users can manage the entire view of the blockchain-based system, further enhancing its accountability and reliability.

Techniques

In this paper, blockchain can be used as decentralized identity management in IoT-based systems. All individuals and devices have unique identities, and these identities are stored in decentralized ledger using blockchain, eliminating the need of third parties or a central authority. Users can control and selectively disclose information to improve privacy and security. [2] This selective disclosure is useful in IoT-based systems, especially smart cities where privacy is important. For example, individual health conditions are only accessible by individual himself and appropriate healthcare experts. Moreover, integrating smart contracts into identity management provides automation on identity verification and access control permissions. For example, smart contracts can enforce role-based access control by granting and revoking access permissions based on predefined rules automatically. This automation not only provides seamless operations to IoT-based systems, but also improves overall security and efficiency.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the integration of blockchain and smart contracts in IoT ecosystems can prevent unauthorized access, data leakage and phishing attacks on sensitive data effectively, improving overall security and privacy of the systems. By using decentralized identity management and automating access controls, IoT users have their right to control the access permissions on their own private information and eliminate the need of third parties’ intervention. Besides, blockchain-based identity management of IoT-based systems provides a resilient, accountable and transparent way to store data while ensuring security of the systems.

Reference

1. “Exploring the integration of edge computing and blockchain IoT: Principles, architectures, security, and applications – ScienceDirect.” Accessed: Oct. 04, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1084804524000614
2. V. Aanandaram and P. Deepalakshmi, “Blockchain-based Digital Identity for Secure Authentication of IoT Devices In 5G Networks,” in 2024 Third International Conference on Intelligent Techniques in Control, Optimization and Signal Processing (INCOS), Mar. 2024, pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1109/INCOS59338.2024.10527739.
3. Gupta, B. B., Mamta, Mehla, R., Alhalabi, W., & Alsharif, H. (2022). Blockchain technology with its application in medical and healthcare systems: A survey. International Journal of Intelligent Systems, 37(11), 9798-9832. 
4. Gupta, B. B., & Narayan, S. (2021). A key-based mutual authentication framework for mobile contactless payment system using authentication server. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (JOEUC), 33(2), 1-16. 
5. Yadav, K., & Gupta, B. B. (2021, January). Clustering based rewarding algorithm to detect adversaries in federated machine learning based iot environment. In 2021 IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE. 

Cite As

KEE S.N. (2024) Blockchain for Decentralized IoT Security: Protection Against Phishing and Data Breaches, Insights2Techinfo, pp.1

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