BLOCKCHAIN: BILLIONS OF DEVICES INTERACTING SAFELY
Blockchain: While cryptocurrency is often the focus when it comes to talking about distributed ledger technologies, the blockchain can also be applied to security use cases.
The IoT ecosystem is based on the client/server model. This architecture enforces a centralised control method to manage IoT devices, their permissions, and the data they generate, which therefore makes the devices unable to make their own ‘decisions’ when it comes to security.
By creating a central point of authority, you also give threat actors a target. If you compromise the centre point you can exploit the full IoT network. Joseph Pindar, the co-founder of the Trust IoT Alliance, suggests that blockchain could be used to eradicate the single point of entry, empowering IoT devices to protect themselves.
"Blockchain computer technology has the potential to create an open and shared platform that billions of devices can use to interact. One day an autonomous car might use the blockchain both to accept rental payments and to pay a pump for gas. Clearly such infrastructure needs to be secure as well as open, and blockchain can provide this too.”
Shaan Mulchandani,
Director of Technology & Security, Aricent
Each IoT device would come together through a private blockchain to form a general consensus on what is considered normal operations. If one node is behaving suspiciously, this node can be automatically isolated to protect the other devices in an IoT deployment.
By decentralising security decisions, threat actors lose a common attack vector. In theory, this method is also fully scalable.
25%
By 2020, the potential cybersecurity and physical safety concerns associated with IoT devices will pressure CIOs at G2000 companies to increase IoT security spending by up to 25%
10%
By 2020, up to 10% of pilot and production blockchain distributed ledgers will incorporate IoT sensors
$3.1 billion
Over the next three years, at least $3.1 billion of IT consulting services and $11.2 billion of systems integration services will be consumed worldwide for building and implementing IoT solutions
"Many experts believe that Blockchain technology is the missing link to settle security, privacy and reliability concerns in the Internet of Things and could perhaps be the silver bullet needed by the IoT industry. It can be used in tracking billions of connected devices, enable the processing of transactions and coordination between devices; allows for significant savings to IoT industry manufacturers. This decentralized approach would eliminate single points of failure, creating a more resilient ecosystem for devices to run on. The cryptographic algorithms used by Blockchains would make consumer data more private."
Ahmed Banafa,
University Faculty Advisor, San Jose University
