Abstract
This century is the time of ubiquitous, smart, and intelligent devices. These devices have a wide variety of applications in different fields like business, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, education, security, transportation, etc. Internet of things is now becoming the inexorable part of the all these fields. But security has always been a major concern in embracing these technologies. The blockchain technology is the next frontier for securing the internet of things. It will play a pivotal role to secure the communication in internet of things ecosystem. This chapter discusses the blockchain-enabled secure internet of things (IoT).
Top2. Background
A blockchain is a distributed ledger that maintains a growing number of data records and transactions. As transactions are related to network participants, they are documented in blocks. They are arranged in the right sequence and assigned a record timestamp when they are added. It is a decentralised technology with the removal of intermediaries the tedious inconvenient banking process can be bypassed which is cost and time efficient. Cryptographic algorithms support the blockchain technology which ensure the prevention of data distortion and ensure high security. The intermediate block on the database cannot be replaces as every block has a hash to the previous block. A block can be extended but cannot be changed.
Generally, Blockchain Technology can be categorised in two core types- public blockchain and private blockchain. (Z Zheng, et al. 2017)
❖ In a public blockchain, everyone can read or write data. Some public blockchains limit the access to just reading or writing. Bitcoin, for example, uses an approach where anyone can write.
❖ In a private blockchain, all the participants are well known and trusted. This is useful when the blockchain is used between companies that belong to the same legal mother entity.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Blockchain: It is a decentralized computation and information sharing platform that enables multiple authoritative domains, who don’t trust each other, to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate in a rational decision-making process.
Public Blockchain: Everyone can read or write data. Some public blockchains limit the access to just reading or writing. Bitcoin, for example, uses an approach where anyone can write.
Private Blockchain: All the participants are known and trusted. This is useful when the blockchain is used between companies that belong to the same legal mother entity.
Block: It is a container data structure which contain series of transactions. Each transaction within a block is digitally signed and encrypted and verified by the peer node of blockchain network.
Internet of Things: Internet technology connecting devices, machines and tools to the internet by means of wireless technologies.