Integrating blockchain technology into the internet of things is a topic of significant interest and research. The internet of things is an evolving field with incredible growth due to the development of smart homes and smart cities. Smart devices are more prone to attacks and the low processing power, storage capacity, and network capacity make current security or cryptography techniques unusable. Blockchain has acquired huge attention since its use in Bitcoin, due to the numerous prospects it raises. Blockchain offers several advantages in addressing security and privacy challenges associated with IoT nodes and networks. This chapter provides insights into incorporating blockchain into IoT networks to achieve confidentiality and safety. The chapter covers details of IoT, smart home applications, and security concerns. The various blockchain solutions to protect IoT and smart home systems are also covered in the study.
TopInternet Of Things And Its Growth
The Internet of Things pertains to a spectrum of distinctly addressable things and devices communicating and exchanging data with each other to establish a global dynamic network. It encompasses a diverse array of applications, including smart homes, smart cities, industrial automation, healthcare, and beyond (Borgia, 2014). The Internet of Things is one of the current technology innovations that has witnessed remarkable growth due to the proliferation of smart devices. IoT Analytics (2021) predicts that by 2025, it is expected to be more than 27 billion connected devices worldwide. Cisco in its Annual Internet Report (Cisco, 2020) says, by 2023 there will be more IP-connected devices than there are people on the planet. In addition, by the end of 2025, there will be 55.7 billion linked devices, up from 29.3 billion in 2023. Figure 1. depicts the worldwide trend of devices and connections growth outpacing both population and Internet users growth.
These smart gadgets have proliferated greatly, making it extremely difficult to manage networks using conventional techniques like client-server connections. On the other hand, IoT devices often have limited processing power, storage capacity, and network bandwidth. This makes them susceptible to a range of security threats, including unauthorized access, data breaches, and malware attacks. As such, traditional security and cryptography techniques may not be suitable for these resource-constrained devices.
Figure 1. Global trend of devices and connections
TopBlockchain And Its Significance
Blockchain technology first gained widespread attention with the advent of Bitcoin. (Nakamoto, 2008). Blockchain-based solutions have become more popular in recent years, due to their significant influence on numerous businesses and industries. The global blockchain market was estimated to be worth $2.89 billion in 2019 and is expected to rise to $137.29 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 62.7% between 2020 and 2027 (Allied Market Research, 2022). Beyond cryptocurrencies, blockchain has various applications, and one of the promising areas is its use in IoT.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a decentralized and transparent ledger technology that stores interactions and tracks resources across a network of computers in a secure and tamper-resistant manner. A chain of cryptographically connected blocks made by nodes is referred to as a blockchain. Individual computers known as nodes are linked together and each holds a copy of the blockchain. Every block in the network includes encrypted data of transactions that took place at a specific time and were confirmed by nodes. A blockchain's encrypted data is unchangeable and impenetrable to hacking. Figure 2 illustrates the header and body of each block in the ledger. The header includes a timestamp, a nonce, and the hash values for the present and prior blocks. The body part comprises auxiliary security information and the pertinent transaction information that needs to be secured. Since a hash is generated automatically and contains all of the information it needs, it cannot be altered in any way.
Figure 2.
Structure of the blockchain