Security and privacy in smart city: a secure e-voting system based on blockchain

In recent years, the internet of things (IoT) growth has brought about many technological changes, including the emergence of the notion of the smart city. The development of a smart city requires the integration of IoT devices and information and communication technologies to improve the quality of lives of citizens in many areas such as health, economy, business, agriculture, and transport. However, with this evolution, many cybersecurity risks and challenges have been raised, so it is necessary to develop these technologies in a protected way to avoid being compromised by attackers. Blockchain, being a new technology based on cryptographic principles, can play an important role in securing smart cities. In this survey, we discussed different applications of blockchain technology in smart cities and also studied how blockchain features (transparency, democracy, decentralization, and security) can help in the improvement of smart city services. This analysis will help us to implement an electronic voting model using a smart contract based on the Ethereum blockchain to highlight how blockchain technology can be implemented in smart cities to promote security

Smarter City: Smart Energy Grid based on Blockchain Technology

The improvement of the Quality of Life (QoL) and the enhancement of the Quality of Services (QoS) represent the main goal of every city evolutionary process. It is possible making cities smarter promoting innovative solutions by use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for collecting and analysing large amounts of data generated by several sources, such as sensor networks, wearable devices, and IoT devices spread among the city. The integration of different technologies and different IT systems, needed to build smart city applications and services, remains the most challenge to overcome. In the Smart City context, this paper intends to investigate the Smart Environment pillar, and in particular the aspect related to the implementation of Smart Energy Grid for citizens in the urban context. The innovative characteristic of the proposed solution consists of using the Blockchain technology to join the Grid, exchanging information, and buy/sell energy between the involved nodes (energy providers and private citizens), using the Blockchain granting ledger

Study of consensus protocols and improvement of the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) algorithm

At a present time, it has been proven that blockchain technology has influenced to a great extent the way of human interaction in a digital world. The operation of the blockchain systems allows the peers to implement digital transactions in a Peer to Peer (P2P) network in a direct way without the need of third parties. Each blockchain determines different rules for the record of the transactions in the ledger. The transactions are inserted in blocks and each one, in turn, is appended to the chain (ledger) based on different consensus algorithms. Once blocks have been inserted in the chain, the consensus has been reached and the blocks with corresponding transactions are considered immutable. This thesis analyses the main features of the blockchain and how the consensus can be achieved through the different kinds of consensus algorithms. In addition, a detailed reference for Stellar and Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) consensus protocols is made in order to explain these algorithms, their limitations as well as their improvement. The development of a reputation mechanism is necessary to the improvement of above algorithms

A survey paper on blockchain and its implementation to reduce security risks in various domains

Every technology with its powerful uses has issues connected to it and security is at the top of it. As for the changing environment, the world has been shifting to Virtual Reality, the new coming world seems to be the internet and blockchain technology which is more powerful than others and has its applications in every field, be it quantum computing, internet of things, security or others. This survey paper covers the blockchain and its security in different fields of sciences and technology. We begin with the introduction of blockchain and then discuss its structure. After that security issues have been highlighted which include attacks and their behavior in quantum computing, internet of things, cloud computing. Furthermore, we have discussed the most common types of attacks and the SRM model of blockchain followed by the conclusion

Risks and Opportunities for Reforming Construction with Blockchain: Bibliometric Study

Emerging technologies are always treated with caution, and Blockchain is no exception to this rule. The AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations) sector is considered conservative when it comes to technology adoption, which is often positive in an industry that deals with a vital commodity that could harm humans or result in catastrophe. However, excessive caution also stifles innovation, as shown in the industry's low R&D expenditure when compared to other industrial activities. In recent years, the AECO sector has benefited from the adoption of new information management tools and systems that allow professionals to develop, share and store construction data more effectively. These tools have successfully tackled many of the traditional interoperability issues that have affected the industry, but several challenges remain unsolved. Indeed, effective real-world communication depends, not only on the compatibility between data formats and systems, but also on issues such as privacy, transparency, and trust. Blockchain has been adopted in different activities as a tool to address these issues, but its impact in the construction industry remains scarce. This paper presents a bibliometric study for the available literature on Blockchain implementation in the AECO sector. In addition to the bibliometric review, content analysis for the literature retrieved is presented to provide a clear vision of the current directions regarding Blockchain technology adoption. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the maturity of Blockchain in Construction literature using statistics based on the available bibliometrics in addition to content analysis. The main results show that although the number of articles about the use of Blockchain in Construction has increased, no studies that present ready to use solutions were found. Instead, the covered studies discuss the technical capabilities of the technology and suggest possible fields of implementation, such as smart contracts and automated payments. Study limitations include the limited amount of literature that can be found on major indexing services, which cover a relatively short reference period

Facilitating cross-chain cryptocurrency exchanges: An inquiry into blockchain technology and interoperability with an emphasis on cryptocurrency arbitrage

Since the introduction and proliferation of the blockchain-based cryptocurrency Bitcoin, alternative cryptocurrencies also based on blockchain technology have exploded in number. It was once believed that one, or very few, cryptocurrencies would eventually dominate the market and drive out competitors. This assumption, however, was incorrect. Thousands of cryptocurrencies exist concurrently. The vast number of cryptocurrencies leads to a problem—what if the cryptocurrency that an individual possesses does not meet their current needs as well as another cryptocurrency might? The attempt to solve this problem has led to the rise of many cryptocurrency exchanges and exchange schemes. In this paper, we will discuss the motivations for an individual to be interested in exchanging two or more cryptocurrencies by describing and comparing various popular cryptocurrencies with different desirable attributes. While we will discuss these attributes, this paper will give special focus to arbitrage in particular. In addition, we will describe various cryptocurrency exchange schemes and their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we contribute to the understanding of cryptocurrency exchangeability and interoperability by comparing the historical price data of several cryptocurrencies to determine how often arbitrage has been possible in the past