IoT and Blockchain combined: for decentralized security

Abstract

Blockchain technology, a version of distributed ledger technology, has been grabbing a huge amount of attention in fields beyond its roots in crypto-currencies: blockchain and finance, blockchain and logistics, blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and cybersecurity, and the list goes on. Blockchain (there are actually many blockchains, and it’s not limited to the technology that powers bitcoin), has been mentioned by virtually every research study firm as a rapidly accelerating evolution, and it’s not just about financial services companies, the domain in which we first discussed blockchain outside of its cryptographic roots (i.e., FinTech or financial technologies). The converging of blockchain and the Internet of Things is actually on the table for many companies and there are existing deployments, solutions and initiatives in several areas outside of IoT and financial services as well. Combine blockchain and IoT, and you have two bigger-than-Internet businesses that need each other for many reasons that we explain in this IoT blockchain overview.