A survey on the security of blockchain systems
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors conduct a systematic study on the security threats to blockchain and survey the corresponding real attacks by examining popular blockchain systems. And they also review the security enhancement solutions for blockchain, which could be used in the development of various blockchain systems, and suggest some future directions to stir research efforts into this area.
About: This article is published in Future Generation Computer Systems.The article was published on 2017-08-23 and is currently open access. It has received 1071 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency.
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TL;DR: It is discussed, how blockchain, which is the underlying technology for bitcoin, can be a key enabler to solve many IoT security problems.
1,743 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive classification of blockchain-enabled applications across diverse sectors such as supply chain, business, healthcare, IoT, privacy, and data management is presented, and key themes, trends and emerging areas for research are established.
1,310 citations
TL;DR: This paper focuses on the relationship between blockchain and IoT, investigates challenges in blockchain IoT applications, and surveys the most relevant work in order to analyze how blockchain could potentially improve the IoT.
1,255 citations
TL;DR: An in-depth survey of BCoT is presented and the insights of this new paradigm are discussed and the open research directions in this promising area are outlined.
Abstract: Internet of Things (IoT) is reshaping the incumbent industry to smart industry featured with data-driven decision-making. However, intrinsic features of IoT result in a number of challenges, such as decentralization, poor interoperability, privacy, and security vulnerabilities. Blockchain technology brings the opportunities in addressing the challenges of IoT. In this paper, we investigate the integration of blockchain technology with IoT. We name such synthesis of blockchain and IoT as blockchain of things (BCoT). This paper presents an in-depth survey of BCoT and discusses the insights of this new paradigm. In particular, we first briefly introduce IoT and discuss the challenges of IoT. Then, we give an overview of blockchain technology. We next concentrate on introducing the convergence of blockchain and IoT and presenting the proposal of BCoT architecture. We further discuss the issues about using blockchain for fifth generation beyond in IoT as well as industrial applications of BCoT. Finally, we outline the open research directions in this promising area.
654 citations
TL;DR: A systematic review of the empirical literature based on the major topics that have been associated with the market for cryptocurrencies since their development as a financial asset in 2009 is presented in this article, where the authors provide a systematic analysis of the main topics that influence the perception of cryptocurrencies as a credible investment asset class and legitimate of value.
623 citations
References
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TL;DR: The fields of application for IoT technologies are as numerous as they are diverse, as IoT solutions are increasingly extending to virtually all areas of everyday.
Abstract: It has been next to impossible in the past months not to come across the term ‘‘Internet of Things’’ (IoT) one way or another. Especially the past year has seen a tremendous surge of interest in the Internet of Things. Consortia have been formed to define frameworks and standards for the IoT. Companies have started to introduce numerous IoTbased products and services. And a number of IoT-related acquisitions have been making the headlines, including, e.g., the prominent takeover of Nest by Google for $3.2 billion and the subsequent acquisitions of Dropcam by Nest and of SmartThings by Samsung. Politicians as well as practitioners increasingly acknowledge the Internet of Things as a real business opportunity, and estimates currently suggest that the IoT could grow into a market worth $7.1 trillion by 2020 (IDC 2014). While the term Internet of Things is now more and more broadly used, there is no common definition or understanding today of what the IoT actually encompasses. The origins of the term date back more than 15 years and have been attributed to the work of the Auto-ID Labs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on networked radio-frequency identification (RFID) infrastructures (Atzori et al. 2010; Mattern and Floerkemeier 2010). Since then, visions for the Internet of Things have been further developed and extended beyond the scope of RFID technologies. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for instance now defines the Internet of Things as ‘‘a global infrastructure for the Information Society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on, existing and evolving, interoperable information and communication technologies’’ (ITU 2012). At the same time, a multitude of alternative definitions has been proposed. Some of these definitions exhibit an emphasis on the things which become connected in the IoT. Other definitions focus on Internet-related aspects of the IoT, such as Internet protocols and network technology. And a third type centers on semantic challenges in the IoT relating to, e.g., the storage, search and organization of large volumes of information (Atzori et al. 2010). The fields of application for IoT technologies are as numerous as they are diverse, as IoT solutions are increasingly extending to virtually all areas of everyday. The most prominent areas of application include, e.g., the smart industry, where the development of intelligent production systems and connected production sites is often discussed under the heading of Industry 4.0. In the smart home or building area, intelligent thermostats and security systems are receiving a lot of attention, while smart energy applications focus on smart electricity, gas and water meters. Smart transport solutions include, e.g., vehicle fleet tracking and mobile ticketing, while in the smart health area, topics such as patients’ surveillance and chronic disease management are being addressed. And in the context of Accepted after one revision by Prof. Dr. Sinz.
3,499 citations
Book•
24 Jan 2015
TL;DR: Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies introduces Bitcoin and describes the technology behind Bitcoin and the blockchain, and Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy considers theoretical, philosophical, and societal impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
Abstract: Bitcoin is starting to come into its own as a digital currency, but the blockchain technology behind it could prove to be much more significant. This book takes you beyond the currency ("Blockchain 1.0") and smart contracts ("Blockchain 2.0") to demonstrate how the blockchain is in position to become the fifth disruptive computing paradigm after mainframes, PCs, the Internet, and mobile/social networking. Author Melanie Swan, Founder of the Institute for Blockchain Studies, explains that the blockchain is essentially a public ledger with potential as a worldwide, decentralized record for the registration, inventory, and transfer of all assetsnot just finances, but property and intangible assets such as votes, software, health data, and ideas. Topics include:Concepts, features, and functionality of Bitcoin and the blockchain Using the blockchain for automated tracking of all digital endeavors Enabling censorship? resistant organizational modelsCreating a decentralized digital repository to verify identity Possibility of cheaper, more efficient services traditionally provided by nations Blockchain for science: making better use of the data-mining network Personal health record storage, including access to ones own genomic dataOpen access academic publishing on the blockchain This book is part of an ongoing OReilly series. Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies introduces Bitcoin and describes the technology behind Bitcoin and the blockchain. Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy considers theoretical, philosophical, and societal impact of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
2,277 citations
TL;DR: The blockchain taxonomy is given, the typical blockchain consensus algorithms are introduced, typical blockchain applications are reviewed, and the future directions in the blockchain technology are pointed out.
Abstract: Blockchain has numerous benefits such as decentralisation, persistency, anonymity and auditability. There is a wide spectrum of blockchain applications ranging from cryptocurrency, financial services, risk management, internet of things (IoT) to public and social services. Although a number of studies focus on using the blockchain technology in various application aspects, there is no comprehensive survey on the blockchain technology in both technological and application perspectives. To fill this gap, we conduct a comprehensive survey on the blockchain technology. In particular, this paper gives the blockchain taxonomy, introduces typical blockchain consensus algorithms, reviews blockchain applications and discusses technical challenges as well as recent advances in tackling the challenges. Moreover, this paper also points out the future directions in the blockchain technology.
1,928 citations
01 Aug 2016
TL;DR: This paper proposes MedRec: a novel, decentralized record management system to handle EMRs, using blockchain technology, and incentivizes medical stakeholders to participate in the network as blockchain “miners”, enabling the emergence of data economics.
Abstract: Years of heavy regulation and bureaucratic inefficiency have slowed innovation for electronic medical records (EMRs). We now face a critical need for such innovation, as personalization and data science prompt patients to engage in the details of their healthcare and restore agency over their medical data. In this paper, we propose MedRec: a novel, decentralized record management system to handle EMRs, using blockchain technology. Our system gives patients a comprehensive, immutable log and easy access to their medical information across providers and treatment sites. Leveraging unique blockchain properties, MedRec manages authentication, confidentiality, accountability and data sharing -- crucial considerations when handling sensitive information. A modular design integrates with providers' existing, local data storage solutions, facilitating interoperability and making our system convenient and adaptable. We incentivize medical stakeholders (researchers, public health authorities, etc.) to participate in the network as blockchain "miners". This provides them with access to aggregate, anonymized data as mining rewards, in return for sustaining and securing the network via Proof of Work. MedRec thus enables the emergence of data economics, supplying big data to empower researchers while engaging patients and providers in the choice to release metadata. The purpose of this short paper is to expose, prior to field tests, a working prototype through which we analyze and discuss our approach.
1,578 citations
22 May 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present Hawk, a decentralized smart contract system that does not store financial transactions in the clear on the blockchain, thus retaining transactional privacy from the public's view.
Abstract: Emerging smart contract systems over decentralized cryptocurrencies allow mutually distrustful parties to transact safely without trusted third parties. In the event of contractual breaches or aborts, the decentralized blockchain ensures that honest parties obtain commensurate compensation. Existing systems, however, lack transactional privacy. All transactions, including flow of money between pseudonyms and amount transacted, are exposed on the blockchain. We present Hawk, a decentralized smart contract system that does not store financial transactions in the clear on the blockchain, thus retaining transactional privacy from the public's view. A Hawk programmer can write a private smart contract in an intuitive manner without having to implement cryptography, and our compiler automatically generates an efficient cryptographic protocol where contractual parties interact with the blockchain, using cryptographic primitives such as zero-knowledge proofs. To formally define and reason about the security of our protocols, we are the first to formalize the blockchain model of cryptography. The formal modeling is of independent interest. We advocate the community to adopt such a formal model when designing applications atop decentralized blockchains.
1,523 citations