Trust Mechanisms for IoT Ecosystems Using Blockchain-Based Decentralized Systems

Abstract

The proposed research introduces blockchainbased trust system for Internet of Things (IoT) landscapes that overcomes three fundamental barriers of widely used IoT systems: security limitations and privacy requirements and requirements regarding scaling. The decentralized infrastructure of the blockchains and the properties which are unchangeable drive the proposed method which enhances authentication practices in devices and security in communication as well as the capabilities to assess trust. The system minimizes efficient and safe interactions between the IoT devices by virtue of incorporating Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus schemes as well as smart contracts that automate trust management whilst saving on computational costs. The methodology introduces decentralized identity management mechanisms also with the reputation-based trust models as well as off-chain storage options that enhance scalability and avoid network congestion. Intensive performance testing including the comparison of our proposed blockchain-based framework with existing centralized solutions and PoW-based current blockchain implementations take place. Greater transaction processing velocities coupled with reduced delays and reduced consumption of power makes the system more efficient thus proving its suitability for IoT hardware that operates in a resource-constrained environment. The proposed approach shows scalability ability as it can handle large number of devices without affecting the performance levels of the system.