Establishing Security Controls For Blockchain Technology In P2P Energy Trading

Abstract

Blockchain technology creates a distributed ledger of transactions through interconnected blocks which are decentralized, transparent, immutable, and automated. The use of blockchain solutions and applications is growing rapidly which include finance, supply chain management, digital identity, energy, healthcare, and real estate. Due to the rapid economic recovery, global weather variations, maintenance delays caused by the pandemic, and earlier decisions by oil and gas companies to cut investments, energy costs have increased since 2021. Through limiting consumer prices and compensating energy providers for the shortfall, governments are aiming to lessen the impact of increase energy prices on citizens and businesses. The utilization of energy using Blockchain technology, where peer-topeer (P2P) energy trading on local and global energy markets could be enabled, can be an enabler to resolve energy shortage and increasing prices. Currently, National Information Security Standards and International Information Security Standards lack a framework to manage and govern information security controls for P2P energy trading using Blockchain technology. This paper proposes information security controls to complement existing Standards that will enable proper governance of P2P energy trading and discusses associated risks.