A Blockchain-Based Control and Communication System for Multilevel IoT Networks
Jack Davies, Alexander Tennyson Mackay, Chloe C. Tartan, Craig Wright, Elis Jackson · 2023
Internet of Things (IoT) networks are an emerging technology with growing applications in industry and the supply chain. However, many IoT systems suffer from the need for centralised back-end infrastructure for data storage and transmission, which introduces a single point of failure and increases costs. Blockchain technology has recently been proposed as a potential solution to these problems, yet existing approaches struggle to combine centralised command and control with a distributed blockchain such that confidentiality, integrity and availability are mutually satisfied. We present a multilevel IoT (MIOT) system that uses a hybrid approach to satisfy these requirements and allows efficient permissioning of IoT network devices using blockchain-based digital certificates. Our approach mitigates single points of failure that exist in alternative solutions and provides the ability for asynchronous communications between IoT nodes to cater for low-powered devices.