Trust-based gateway selection in a multi-tiers blockchain architecture
Yasmine Bachi, Abderrezak Rachedi, Djamel Eddine Menacer · 2021 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) · 2021
In a multi-tiers blockchain (BC) architecture, we find heterogeneous BC with different security levels that need to communicate. This communication is ensured by node on each BC tier, called the gateway. This node has a sensitive role in the network, it represents a weak point and a source of attacks propagation between networks. In this paper, we focus on the selection of the gateway node using a distributed trust model to evaluate nodes behaviors inside each BC network. Our solution is blockchain-based and will be implemented above the blockchain without affecting its initial structure. The trust model is inspired from the Spence's model where signals, cost and rewards are used to incite nodes to collaborate and to act honestly. In addition, we introduce penalties for nodes acting maliciously or being selfish. Moreover, the gateway undergoes severe penalties in case he changes his behavior after election. Nodes can complain about the current gateway, their complaints are considered if they are trustworthy and quite numerous. Then, we propose a 2 phases algorithm based on the proposed trust model for a dynamic selection of the gateway node. The 2 phases ensure the election of an honest node with the optimal performances.