If blockchain networks are to become the building blocks of the infrastructure for the future digital economy, then several challenges related to the resiliency and survivability of blockchain networks need to be addressed. The survivability of a blockchain network is influenced by the diversity of its nodes. Trustworthy device-level attestations permits nodes in a blockchain network to provide truthful evidence regarding their current configuration, operational state, keying material and other system attributes. In the current work we review the recent developments towards a standard attestation architecture and evidence conveyance protocols. We explore the applicability and benefits of a standard attestation architecture to blockchain networks. Finally, we discuss a number of open challenges related to node attestations that has arisen due to changing model of blockchain network deployments, such as the use virtualization and containerization technologies for nodes in cloud infrastructures.
Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is an emerging manufacturing technology that is expected to have far-reaching socioeconomic, environmental, and geopolitical implications. As the use of this technology increases, the need for validation of 3D designs grows. In order to create a marketplace in which 3D designs are traded, it is necessary to develop a platform that enables the attestation of the 3D designs and promotes truthfulness. In this paper, we introduce a novel concept of a distributed marketplace that will support the attestation of 3D printing designs. We build a mathematica…
The Covid-19 pandemic has made individuals and organizations to rethink the way of handling identity verification and credentials sharing particularly in quarantined situations. In this study, we investigate the inefficiencies of traditional identity systems, and discuss how a proper implementation of Blockchain technology would result in safer, more secure, privacy respecting and remote friendly identity systems. As a result, we propose a Blockchain based framework for digital identity verification, record attestation and record sharing, and we explain the framework in details with certain us…
To keep a system secure, all devices in the system need to be benign. To avoid malicious and/or compromised devices, network access control such as authentication using a credential and remote attestation based on trusted hardware has been used. These techniques ensure the authenticity and integrity of the devices, but do not mitigate risks of a backdoor embedded in the devices by the developer. To tackle this problem, we propose a novel architecture that integrates remote attestation and backdoor inspection. Specifically, the backdoor inspection result is stored in a server and the verifier r…
We propose Remote Attestation with TOCTOU Avoidance (RATA): a provably secure approach to address the RA TOCTOU problem. With RATA, even malware that erases itself before execution of the next RA, can not hide its ephemeral presence. RATA targets hybrid RA architectures (implemented as Hardware/Software co-designs), which are aimed at low-end embedded devices. We present two alternative techniques - RATAa and RATAb - suitable for devices with and without real-time clocks, respectively. Each is shown to be secure and accompanied by a publicly available and formally verified implementation. Our …
Truxen is a Trusted Computing enhanced blockchain that uses Proof of Integrity protocol as the consensus. Proof of Integrity protocol is derived from Trusted Computing and associated Remote Attestations, that can be used to vouch a node's identity and integrity to all of the other nodes in the blockchain network. In this paper we describe how Trusted Computing and Proof of Integrity can be used to enhance blockchain in the areas of mining block, executing transaction and smart contract, protecting sensitive data. Truxen presents a Single Execution Model, that can verify and execute transaction…
Smart cities deploy large numbers of sensors and collect a tremendous amount of data from them. For example, Advanced Metering Infrastructures (AMIs), which consist of physical meters that collect usage data about public utilities such as power and water, are an important building block in a smart city. In a typical sensor network, the measurement devices are connected through a computer network, which exposes them to cyber attacks. Furthermore, the data is centrally managed at the operator's servers, making it vulnerable to insider threats. Our goal is to protect the integrity of data collect…
This paper proposes an architecture and a protocol suite for a permissioned blockchain for a local IoT network. The architecture is based on a sealed Sequencer and a Fog Server running (post-quantum) Guy Fawkes protocols. The blocks of the blockchain are stored in networked Content Addressable Storage alongside any user data and validity proofs. We maintain that a typical IoT device can, despite its resource limitations, use our blockchain protocols directly, without a trusted intermediary. This includes posting and monitoring transactions as well as off-chain (post-quantum) emergency communic…
In recent years, blockchain has grown in popularity due to its singular attributes, enabling the development of new innovative decentralized applications. But when companies consider leveraging blockchain for their applications, the plethora of possible choices and the difficulty of integrating blockchain into architectures can hinder its adoption. Our research project aims to ease the adoption of blockchain into companies, notably with the construction of an automated decision process to solve this issue in which requirements are first-class citizens, a knowledge base containing architectural…
This paper presents Thinkey, an efficient, secure, infinitely scalable and decentralized blockchain architecture. It ensures system correctness and liveness by a multi-layer structure. In particular, the system is based on a double-chain architecture and uses a multi-layer consensus protocol to guarantee consistency. Thinkey also uses a novel account model which is based on Actor Model to support the complex logic in the multi-chain structure. Experiment results show that the proposed Thinkey architecture can achieve higher throughput as the number of nodes increases.
Due to their interesting features, blockchains have become popular in recent years. They are full-stack systems where security is a critical factor for their success. The main focus of this work is to systematize knowledge about security and privacy issues of blockchains. To this end, we propose a security reference architecture based on models that demonstrate the stacked hierarchy of various threats (similar to the ISO/OSI hierarchy) as well as threat-risk assessment using ISO/IEC 15408. In contrast to the previous surveys, we focus on the categorization of security incidents based on their …
In this paper we describe the architecture and the implementation of a broker based publish/subscribe system where the broker role is played by a private blockchain, Hy-perledger Fabric. We show the effectiveness of our architecture by implementing and deploying a photo trading plateform. Interestingly, our architecture is generic enough to be adapted to any digital asset trading.
Copyright detection is an effective method to prevent piracy. However, untrustworthy detection parties may lead to falsified detection results. Due to its credibility and tamper resistance, blockchain has been applied to copyright protection. Previous works mainly utilized blockchain for reliable copyright information storage or copyrighted digital media trading. As far as we know, the problem of credible copyright detection has not been addressed. In this paper, we propose a credible copyright detection architecture based on the blockchain, called DCDChain. In this architecture, the detection…
Today there is considerable interest in deploying blockchains and decentralized ledger technology as a means to address the deficiencies of current financial and digital asset infrastructures. The focal point of attention in many projects on digital asset and cryptocurrency is centered around blockchain systems and smart contracts. Many projects seek to make the blockchain as the centerpiece of the new decentralized world of finance. However, several roadblocks and challenges currently face this predominant blockchain-centric view. In this paper we argue that the proper and correct perspective…
In this paper we discuss a design philosophy for interoperable blockchain systems, using the design philosophy of the Internet architecture as the basis to identify key design principles. Several interoperability challenges are discussed in the context of cross-domain transactions. We illustrate how these principles are informing the interoperability architecture of the MIT Tradecoin system.
The blockchain technology is taking the world by storm. Blockchain with its decentralized, transparent and secure nature has emerged as a disruptive technology for the next generation of numerous industrial applications. One of them is Cloud of Things enabled by the combination of cloud computing and Internet of Things. In this context, blockchain provides innovative solutions to address challenges in Cloud of Things in terms of decentralization, data privacy and network security, while Cloud of Things offer elasticity and scalability functionalities to improve the efficiency of blockchain ope…
Blockchain has received tremendous attention as a secure, distributed, and anonymous framework for the Internet of Things (IoT). As a distributed system, blockchain trades off scalability for distribution, which limits the technologys adaptation for large scale networks such as IoT. All transactions and blocks must be broadcast and verified by all participants which limits scalability and incurs computational and communication overheads. The existing solutions to scale blockchains have so far led to partial recentralization, limiting the technologys original appeal. In this paper, we introduce…
Decentralized crypto-currencies based on the blockchain architecture under-utilize available network bandwidth, making them unable to scale to thousands of transactions per second. We define the Blockclique architecture, that addresses this limitation by sharding transactions in a block graph with a fixed number of threads. The architecture allows the creation of intrinsically compatible blocks in parallel, where each block references one previous block of each thread. The consistency of the Blockclique protocol is formally established in presence of attackers. An experimental evaluation of th…
In the next-generation computing, the role of cloud, internet, and smart devices will be capacious. Nowadays we all are familiar with the word smart. This word is used a number of times in our daily life. The Internet of Things (IoT) will produce remarkable different kinds of information from different resources. It can store and process big data in the cloud. The fogging acts as an interface between cloud and IoT. The IoT nodes are also known as fog nodes, these nodes are able to access anywhere within the range of the network. The blockchain is a novel approach to record the transactions in …
Blockchain (BC) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) are some of the most prominent emerging technologies in recent research. These technologies provide security, integrity, as well as confidentiality in their respective applications. Cloud computing has also been a popular comprehensive technology for several years. Confidential information is often shared with the cloud infrastructure to give customers access to remote resources, such as computation and storage operations. However, cloud computing also presents substantial security threats, issues, and challenges. Therefore, to overcome the…
With the purpose of defending against lateral movement in today's borderless networks, Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) adoption is gaining momentum. With a full scale ZTA implementation, it is unlikely that adversaries will be able to spread through the network starting from a compromised endpoint. However, the already authenticated and authorised session of a compromised endpoint can be leveraged to perform limited, though malicious, activities ultimately rendering the endpoints the Achilles heel of ZTA. To effectively detect such attacks, distributed collaborative intrusion detection systems w…
The concept of Industry 4.0 is a newly emerging focus of research throughout the world. However, it has lots of challenges to control data, and it can be addressed with various technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Software Defined Networking (SDN), and Blockchain (BC) for managing data securely. Further, the complexity of sensors, appliances, sensor networks connecting to the internet and the model of Industry 4.0 has created the challenge of designing systems, infrastructure and smart applications capable of continuously analyzing the data produc…
Unlike cryptocurrency transactions in bitcoin that are stored indefinitely, the data of certain applications like IoT have finite-lifetime. In this context, one of the recent research works proposed LiTiChain - a new architecture for Blockchain of finite-lifetime blocks with applications to Edge-IoT. The novelty of LiTiChain lies in ensuring the connectivity of the chain even after the expired blocks are deleted from the chain. To provide the same level of security as conventional blockchain, in LiTiChain, some blocks are stored longer than their lifetime, which incurs additional storage cost.…
Blockchain is a decentralized transaction and data management solution, the technological leap behind the success of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As the variety of existing blockchains and distributed ledgers continues to increase, adopters should focus on selecting the solution that best fits their needs and the requirements of their decentralized applications, rather than developing yet another blockchain from scratch. In this paper we present a conceptual framework to aid software architects, developers, and decision makers to adopt the right blockchain technology. The framework expo…
This paper considers the use of novel technologies for mitigating attacks that aim at compromising intrusion detection systems (IDSs). Solutions based on collaborative intrusion detection networks (CIDNs) could increase the resilience against such attacks as they allow IDS nodes to gain knowledge from each other by sharing information. However, despite the vast research in this area, trust management issues still pose significant challenges and recent works investigate whether these could be addressed by relying on blockchain and related distributed ledger technologies. Towards that direction,…
Blockchain technology has been integrated into diverse software applications by enabling a decentralised architecture design. However, the defects of on-chain algorithmic mechanisms, and tedious disputes and debates in off-chain communities may affect the operation of blockchain systems. Accordingly, blockchain governance has received great interest for supporting the design, use, and maintenance of blockchain systems, hence improving the overall trustworthiness. Although much effort has been put into this research topic, there is a distinct lack of consideration for blockchain governance from…
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies have received significant interest in various areas beyond the financial sector, with profound applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), providing the means for creating truly trustless and secure solutions for IoT applications. Taking into account the weak security defences that the majority of IoT devices have, it is critical that a blockchain-based solution targeting the IoT is not only capable of addressing the many challenges IoT is facing, but also does not introduce other defects, in terms of performance, making its adoption hard to ach…
Business transactions by public firms are required to be reported, verified, and audited periodically, which is traditionally a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. To streamline this procedure, we design FutureAB (Future Auditing Blockchain) which aims to automate the reporting and auditing process, thereby allowing auditors to focus on discretionary accounts to better detect and prevent fraud. We demonstrate how distributed-ledger technologies build investor trust and disrupt the auditing industry. Our multi-functional design indicates that auditing firms can automate transaction veri…
Interconnected smart vehicles offer a range of sophisticated services that benefit the vehicle owners, transport authorities, car manufacturers and other service providers. This potentially exposes smart vehicles to a range of security and privacy threats such as location tracking or remote hijacking of the vehicle. In this article, we argue that BlockChain (BC), a disruptive technology that has found many applications from cryptocurrencies to smart contracts, is a potential solution to these challenges. We propose a BC-based architecture to protect the privacy of the users and to increase the…
This paper intends to propose the architecture of a blockchain-agnostic protocol designed for communication of blockchains amongst each other (i.e. cross-chain), and for blockchains with the outside world (i.e. data oracles). The expansive growth of cutting-edge technology in the blockchain industry outlines the need and opportunity for addressing oracle consensus in a manner both technologically and economically efficient as well as futureproof. Blockchain-agnosticism is inherently limited if proposing a technological solution involves adding one more architectural layer. As such, Gravity pro…
Ride-hailing and ride-sharing applications have recently gained in popularity as a convenient alternative to traditional modes of travel. Current research into autonomous vehicles is accelerating rapidly and will soon become a critical component of a ride-hailing platform's architecture. Implementing an autonomous vehicle ride-hailing platform proves a difficult challenge due to the centralized nature of traditional ride-hailing architectures. In a traditional ride-hailing environment the drivers operate their own personal vehicles so it follows that a fleet of autonomous vehicles would be req…
With the proliferation of new technologies such as Internet of Things (IOT) and Software-Defined Networking(SDN) in the recent years, the distributed denial of service (DDoS)attack vector has broadened and opened new opportunities for more sophisticated DDoS attacks on the targeted victims. The new attack vector includes unsecured and vulnerable IoT devices connected to the internet, denial of service vulnerabilities like southbound channel saturation in the SDN architecture. Given the high-volume and pervasive nature of these attacks, it is beneficial for stakeholders to collaborate in detect…
Blockchain is a promising technology for establishing trust in IoT networks, where network nodes do not necessarily trust each other. Cryptographic hash links and distributed consensus mechanisms ensure that the data stored on an immutable blockchain can not be altered or deleted. However, blockchain mechanisms do not guarantee the trustworthiness of data at the origin. We propose a layered architecture for improving the end-to-end trust that can be applied to a diverse range of blockchain-based IoT applications. Our architecture evaluates the trustworthiness of sensor observations at the data…
The fast developing Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies provide a promising opportunity to build large-scale systems to connect numerous heterogeneous devices into the Internet. Most existing IIoT infrastructures are based on a centralized architecture, which is easier for management but cannot effectively support immutable and verifiable services among multiple parties. Blockchain technology provides many desired features for large-scale IIoT infrastructures, such as decentralization, trustworthiness, trackability, and immutability. This paper presents a blockchain-based IIoT ar…
Precision, validity, reliability, timeliness, availability, and granularity are the desired characteristics for data and information systems. However due to the desired trait of data mutability, information systems have inherently lacked the ability to enforce data integrity without governance. A resolution to this challenge has emerged in the shape of blockchain architecture, which ensures immutability of stored information, whilst remaining in an online state. Blockchain technology achieves this through the serial attachment of set-sized parcels of data called blocks. Links (liken to a chain…
In this letter we propose Meta-key, a data-sharing mechanism that enables users share their encrypted data under a blockchain-based decentralized storage architecture. All the data-encryption keys are encrypted by the owner's public key and put onto the blockchain for safe and secure storage and easy key-management. Encrypted data are stored in dedicated storage nodes and proxy re-encryption mechanism is used to ensure secure data-sharing in the untrusted environment. Security analysis of our model shows that the proxy re-encryption adopted in our system is naturally free from collusion-attack…
The blockchain is a distributed technology which allows establishing trust among unreliable users who interact and perform transactions with each other. While blockchain technology has been mainly used for crypto-currency, it has emerged as an enabling technology for establishing trust in the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT). Nevertheless, a naive usage of the blockchain for IoT leads to high delays and extensive computational power. In this paper, we propose a blockchain architecture dedicated to being used in a supply chain which comprises different distributed IoT entities. We propose …
The global Electronic Health Record (EHR) market is growing dramatically and expected to reach $39.7 billions by 2022. To safe-guard security and privacy of EHR, access control is an essential mechanism for managing EHR data. This paper proposes a hybrid architecture to facilitate access control of EHR data by using both blockchain and edge node. Within the architecture, a blockchain-based controller manages identity and access control policies and serves as a tamper-proof log of access events. In addition, off-chain edge nodes store the EHR data and apply policies specified in Abbreviated Lan…
The Blockchain and the programs running on it, called Smart Contracts, are more and more applied in all fields requiring trust and strong certifications. In this work we compare public and permissioned blockchains for industrial applications. We propose a complete, original solution based on Ethereum to implement a decentralized application. This solution is characterized by a set of validator nodes running the blockchain using Proof-of-Authority consensus, and including an Explorer enabling users to check blockchain state, and the source code of the Smart Contracts running on it. From time to…
Blockchain has been touted as a revolutionary technology. However, despite the excitement, blockchain has not been adopted in many fields. Many are hesitant to adopt blockchain technology due to privacy concerns, barriers to use, or lack of practical use cases. In this work, we outline a potential blockchain use case for tracking financial transactions across multiple financial institutions. We show the downsides of traditional centralized approaches and that blockchain approaches fail to give all the privacy and accessibility required for this use case. Thus we propose a novel blockchain arch…
