ZBA-SU: A Novel Zero-Knowledge-Proof and Blockchain Integrated Methodology for Secure IoT Software Updates

Abstract

Abstract This manuscript per the authors addresses secure software update delivery for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Existing IoT update mechanisms suffer from centralized trust dependency, attribute privacy leakage, and limited scalability. This manuscript proposes ZBA-SU (Zero-Knowledge Blockchain Attribute-Based Software Update), a methodology integrating zero-knowledge proof (ZKP), blockchain smart contracts, and ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption (CP-ABE). The proposed framework achieves privacy-preserving device attribute verification via ZKP, tamper-proof atomic update delivery via blockchain, and fine-grained access control via CP-ABE. Experimental results on Raspberry Pi, ESP32, and Ethereum private chain show ZKP generation time of 1.8 seconds, attribute leakage reduction of 97%, verification within 3 seconds, and throughput improvement of 40%. Security analysis confirms resistance against attribute forgery and proof replay attacks. ZBA-SU provides effective security enhancement for IoT software updates in smart cities and industrial IoT.