An Integrated Blockchain Framework for Secure Data Sharing in IoT Fog Computing

Abstract

The importance of secure data sharing in fog computing is increasing due to the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This article addresses the privacy and security issues brought up by data sharing in the context of IoT fog computing. The suggested framework, called “BlocFogSec”, secures key management and data sharing through blockchain consensus and smart contracts. Unlike existing solutions, BlocFogSec utilizes two types of smart contracts for secure key exchange and data sharing, while employing a consensus protocol to validate transactions and maintain blockchain integrity. To process and store data effectively at the network edge, the framework makes use of fog computing, notably reducing latency and raising throughput. BlocFogSec successfully blocks unauthorized access and data breaches by restricting transactions to authorized nodes. In addition, the framework uses a consensus protocol to validate and add transactions to the blockchain, guaranteeing data accuracy and immutability. To compare BlocFogSec's performance to that of other models, a number of simulations are conducted. The simulation results indicate that BlocFogSec consistently outperforms existing models, such as Security Services for Fog Computing (SSFC) and Blockchain-based Key Management Scheme (BKMS), in terms of throughput (up to 5135 bytes per second), latency (as low as 7 ms), and resource utilization (70% to 92%). The evaluation also takes into account attack defending accuracy (up to 100%), precision (up to 100%), and recall (up to 99.6%), demonstrating BlocFogSec's effectiveness in identifying and preventing potential attacks.