BlockChain: A distributed solution to automotive security and privacy

Interconnected smart vehicles offer a range of sophisticated services that benefit the vehicle owners, transport authorities, car manufacturers and other service providers. This potentially exposes smart vehicles to a range of security and privacy threats such as location tracking or remote hijacking of the vehicle. In this article, we argue that BlockChain (BC), a disruptive technology that has found many applications from cryptocurrencies to smart contracts, is a potential solution to these challenges. We propose a BC-based architecture to protect the privacy of the users and to increase the security of the vehicular ecosystem. Wireless remote software updates and other emerging services such as dynamic vehicle insurance fees, are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed security architecture. We also qualitatively argue the resilience of the architecture against common security attacks

A Novel Blockchain-Reinforcement Learning Framework for Securing Wireless Sensor Networks with Energy Efficiency

This paper introduces a novel approach to Reinforcement Learning (RL), focusing on the development and implementation of a Q-learning based algorithm. Reinforcement Learning, a critical branch of machine learning, enables agents to make decisions by interacting with their environment and learning from the consequences of their actions. Our study emphasizes the Q-learning model, a popular, model-free, off-policy algorithm that offers a robust framework for agents to learn optimal strategies in diverse settings. By iteratively updating the action-value function (Q-function) based on observed rewards and future reward estimations, our algorithm aims to achieve efficient learning and decision-making. This work contributes to the field by providing a detailed algorithmic structure, complete with mathematical formulations, that facilitates a deeper understanding of the Q-learning process and its practical applications in various domains

A BLOCKCHAIN BASED POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD (EHRS)

The rapid development of information technology during the last decade has greatly influenced all aspects of society, including individuals and enterprise organizations. Adopting new technologies by individuals and organizations depends on several factors, such as usability, available resources, support needed for adoption benefits, and return on investment, to mention a few. When it comes to the adoption of new technologies, one of the main challenges faced by organizations is the ability to effectively incorporate such technologies into their enterprise solutions to maximize the expected benefits. For the last several years, Blockchain technology has become a popular trend in a variety of sectors, attracting the attention of many governments and industries. Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger with the general purpose of information exchange that requires authentication and trust. It acts as an immutable ledger and allows for distributed, encrypted, and secure logging of digital transactions after the participating nodes or entities have reached a consensus. Because of the asymmetric cryptography and distributed consensus algorithms that have been built for users’ security and ledger consistency, this technology has gained a lot of attention. Blockchain has enormous potentials; however, as with any emerging technology, several drawbacks may exist and have negative consequences. To determine how the technology may be deployed, a framework is usually required. However, due to the lack of clear national and international standards for controlling and reducing risks associated with such technology, legal and organizational factors must be addressed before the technology can be implemented. The thesis herein is a proposal for such a new policy framework for Electronic Health Records (EHRs) management. Through the establishment of a new policy framework specifically related to Blockchain technology, this proposal aims to achieve the following: first, provide policies to govern sustainable management of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information concerning Blockchain applications and solution implementation across health care entities; and second, the prevention and reduction of related information security risks and threats

Blockchain-based life cycle assessment: An implementation framework and system architecture

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service. Collecting reliable data is a major challenge in LCA due to the complexities involved in the tracking and quantifying inputs and outputs at multiple supply chain stages. Blockchain technology offers an ideal solution to overcome the challenge in sustainable supply chain management. Its use in combination with internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analytics and visualization can help organizations achieve operational excellence in conducting LCA for improving supply chain sustainability. This research develops a framework to guide the implementation of Blockchain-based LCA. It proposes a system architecture that integrates the use of Blockchain, IoT, and big data analytics and visualization. The proposed implementation framework and system architecture were validated by practitioners who were experienced with Blockchain applications. The research also analyzes system implementation costs and discusses potential issues and solutions, as well as managerial and policy implications

FHIRChain: Applying Blockchain to Securely and Scalably Share Clinical Data

Secure and scalable data sharing is essential for collaborative clinical decision making. Conventional clinical data efforts are often siloed, however, which creates barriers to efficient information exchange and impedes effective treatment decision made for patients. This paper provides four contributions to the study of applying blockchain technology to clinical data sharing in the context of technical requirements defined in the "Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap" from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). First, we analyze the ONC requirements and their implications for blockchain-based systems. Second, we present FHIRChain, which is a blockchain-based architecture designed to meet ONC requirements by encapsulating the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard for shared clinical data. Third, we demonstrate a FHIRChain-based decentralized app using digital health identities to authenticate participants in a case study of collaborative decision making for remote cancer care. Fourth, we highlight key lessons learned from our case study

Internet of Things brings Revolution in eHealth: Achievements and Challenges

The medical field has benefited greatly from the technological revolution around our world, as well as the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT aims to make life easier and more convenient by bridging the various gaps in connecting various devices that people employ. A wide range of applications and technologies, including wearable device development, advanced care services, personalized care packages, and remote patient monitoring, benefit healthcare professionals and patients. These technologies gave rise to new terms such as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), e-Health, and telemedicine. With the advent of technology and the availability of various connected devices, smart healthcare, which has grown in popularity in recent years, has been positively redefined. Through the selection of literature reviews, we systematically investigate how the adoption (and integration) of IoT technologies in healthcare is changing the way traditional services and products are delivered. This paper outlines (i) selected IoT technologies and paradigms related to health care, as well as, (ii) various implementation scenarios for IoT-based models. It also discusses (iii) the various advantages of these applications and finally, (iv) a summary of lessons learned and recommendations for future applications