Use of Blockchain in IOT

Satyam Mishra 10-Mar-2018

The IOT has become one of the most rapidly growing technologies over the span of past few years. According to a statistic, there were more than 8.4 billion electronic devices connected to the internet enabled electronic devices. This number is estimated to escalate up to 20 billion in the coming two years. And because of constant internet connectivity, all of these devices will remain interconnected via the internet and remain online all the time. And the fact that should be kept in mind that devices not only remain connected to the internet to serve us but they also monitor the usage, track the user and their habits. The cherry on the cake is that, if the device has a camera embedded in it, then it can also ‘watch’ us. IOT experts and hackers can easily penetrate through these and reveal a dark side of the Internet of Things which is a major threat to our privacy and security. There can be a possibility that you are under surveillance which is done through the camera and voice recorder of your laptop or mobile phone! There is an urgent need for securing internet of things.

1. The dark side of the Internet of Things

IOT generated countless possibilities of making the devices â€˜smartâ€™. This has made our day to day life much easier. But every coin has two sides. These â€˜smartâ€™ devices are so much well equipped with all sorts of electrical components that they can be used for another circuitry which might be useful to the hackers. And since IOT is a system of systems, it is centralized. So, there is a security breach in the main device, then the whole integrity of system comes under threat and becomes vulnerable. The client-server paradigm should be changed. This issue can be solved by using blockchain technology in the internet of things.

2. What are the advantages of using blockchain in IOT?

A question might arise in our mind that how does blockchain work with The answer to this question is that blockchain may help in solving the issue of centralization because it involves ledgers and blockchain supports multiple threads of communication. So, if a DDoS, man in the middle attack is launched or any device is under security threats, then there is no need to worry because of the decentralization which makes the devices partially independent. Another advantage of using blockchain and IOT together is that every authority and process is considered equal by the vendor. This opens the door for M2M communications. Experts also say that the use of blockchain and IOT together will increase the reusability of the devices and reduced need of purchasing and throwing them. Internet of things and blockchain technology can be put together in many ways especially for authenticating the device and use of bitcoin in our system if we want to do so. And considering the security aspect, the use of blockchain makes the modifications in the previous records of the database very difficult and it can only be extended.

Image Source

Though the use of blockchain in IOT has some flaws it makes the IOT models more secure and practical keeping in mind the malicious activities and security breaches that potential hackers can make into the systems.