Peer to Peer for Privacy and Decentralization in the Internet of Things

In the Internet of Things (IoT) era new connected devices will spread highly sensitive personal data. Sending this type of data to centralized companies represents a serious risk for people’s privacy, since economical or political interests could lead to an illegitimate use of personal information (as shown by Snowden’s revelations). With the purpose of overcoming such status-quo, our research goal is to develop software systems according to the notion of decentralized private-by-design IoT. The basic idea is that data produced by personal IoT devices are safely stored in a distributed system whose design guarantees privacy, leaving to the people -the real data owners- the decision of which of them to share and with whom. To achieve this goal, a possible solution is to leverage the use of Peer-to-Peer storage networks in combination with the blockchain. However, such architecture, despite promising, embeds still limitations, especially in terms of scalability. In this paper we discuss our research motivation, we describe our research idea applied in a possible scenario and we present the scalability problem

Privacy-preserving blockchain based IoT ecosystem using attribute-based encryption

© 2017 IEEE. The Internet of Things (IoT) has penetrated deeply into our lives and the number of IoT devices per person is expected to increase substantially over the next few years. Due to the characteristics of IoT devices (i.e., low power and low battery), usage of these devices in critical applications requires sophisticated security measures. Researchers from academia and industry now increasingly exploit the concept of blockchains to achieve security in IoT applications. The basic idea of the blockchain is that the data generated by users or devices in the past are verified for correctness and cannot be tampered once it is updated on the blockchain. Even though the blockchain supports integrity and non-repudiation to some extent, confidentiality and privacy of the data or the devices are not preserved. The content of the data can be seen by anyone in the network for verification and mining purposes. In order to address these privacy issues, we propose a new privacy-preserving blockchain architecture for IoT applications based on attribute-based encryption (ABE) techniques. Security, privacy, and numerical analyses are presented to validate the proposed model

Understanding manager resistance to blockchain systems

Blockchain technology has received much attention in the media and there is an increasing interest amongst organizations within financial services due to the potential benefits. As blockchain-based systems are a nascent technology, the requirements of the technology need to be understood, to allow blockchain systems to be successfully integrated within financial service organizations. There are gaps in academic research in understanding how managers evaluate the value of a blockchain-based system. This study develops a model to explain manager resistance to implementing blockchain-based systems in financial services organizations. This research advances the theoretical understanding of managers’ perspectives on blockchain-based systems and models their resistance to blockchain technology

Creación de cronogramas de turnos de trabajo y descanso variables mediante inteligencia artificial y blockchain.

Se aborda el desarrollo de un sistema inteligente y distribuido que resuelve el problema de la creación de los cronogramas mensuales de trabajo para el personal nocturno de la empresa Megamas SAS. El sistema agiliza el proceso de asignación de turnos, toda vez que esta labor resulta muy compleja y con muchos errores, debido a la gran cantidad de variables a tener en cuenta para la realización de forma manual (Amador, 1996). En primer lugar, se realiza una recopilación de todas las variables de asignación de los turnos de trabajo nocturno, las cuales surgen tanto por asuntos de ley como por reglas del propio negocio. Luego se hace un desarrollo de un software que aplique los conceptos de IA para la creación autónoma de los cronogramas de trabajo mensuales. Finalmente se desarrolla un sistema distribuido basado en Blockchain que permita a los actores del sistema gestionar las solicitudes. Los Algoritmos Evolutivos, contribuyen a la solución de problemas específicos, como, por ejemplo. la creación de cronogramas de turnos de trabajo y descanso para un mes entero, cubriendo 36 puntos de atención, con empleados que rotan entre ellos y muchas otras restricciones propias del negocio. Blockchain contribuye a solucionar la necesidad de garantizar la transparencia de la información, lo que en esta oportunidad se aplica para el caso particular de certificar qué empleados, ubicados en distintos puntos de atención, con posibles fallas en la conectividad, seleccionen con anticipación las fechas de descansos deseadas. Se logró la implementación y las pruebas del prototipo con datos del 2018 que permitieron concluir que el sistema es altamente efectivo para crear los cronogramas de trabajo y descansos a la vez que Blockchain, mediante un desarrollo propio, permite a los actores del sistema agregar características de seguridad, tolerancia a fallas y garantía de la integridad de la información.The development of an intelligent and distributed system that solves the problem of creating monthly work schedules for the night staff of the Megamas SAS company is addressed. The system speeds up the process of assigning shifts, since this work is very complex and with many errors, due to the large number of variables to be taken into account for the manually realization (Amador, 1996). In the first place, a compilation of all the assignment variables of night work shifts is made, which arise both by law issues and by business rules. Then there is a development of software that applies the concepts of AI for the autonomous creation of monthly work schedules. Finally, a distributed system based on Blockchain is developed that allows system actors to manage requests. Evolutionary Algorithms contribute to the solution of specific problems, such as. the creation of work and rest shifts schedules for a whole month, covering 36 points of attention, with employees who rotate between them and many other restrictions of the business. Blockchain helps to solve the need to guarantee the transparency of the information, which this time applies to the particular case of certifying which employees, located at different points of service, with possible failures in connectivity, select in advance the dates of desired breaks. The implementation and testing of the prototype was achieved with 2018 data that allowed us to conclude that the system is highly effective in creating work schedules and breaks while Blockchain, through its own development, allows the system actors to add characteristics of security, fault tolerance and guarantee of the integrity of the information

Blockchain-based network concept model for reliable and accessible fine dust management system at construction sites

In total, 44.3% of particle matter 10 (PM10) is fugitive dust, and one of the main sources of fugitive dust generation in Korea is construction work (22%). Construction sites account for 84% of the total business places that have reported fugitive dust generation. Currently, the concentration of fine dust at construction sites is being remotely monitored by government inspection agencies through IoT sensors, but it is difficult to trust that appropriate fine dust reduction measures are being taken, because contractors can avoid taking these measures by submitting false reports or photos. In addition, since the fine dust monitoring system under government management is not an open platform and centralized system, residents near construction sites encounter difficulties in accessing information about fine dust. Therefore, in this study, we designed and constructed a blockchain network model to transparently and reliably provide network participants with the information associated with IoT data and fine dust reduction measures. To operate the blockchain network, we designed the chaincode, DApp, and network architecture. In addition, information on fine dust concentration and reduction measure photos were shared with the participants via the blockchain search tool (Hyperledger Explorer). The proposed blockchain network is expected to form a trust protocol among contractors, government inspection agencies, and citizens

Internet of Things and the Legal Issues related to the Data Protection Law according to the new European General Data Protection Regulation

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Trusted UAV Network Coverage using Blockchain, Machine Learning and Auction Mechanisms

The UAV is emerging as one of the greatest technology developments for rapid network coverage provisioning at affordable cost. The aim of this paper is to outsource network coverage of a specific area according to a desired quality of service requirement and to enable various entities in the network to have intelligence to make autonomous decisions using blockchain and auction mechanisms. In this regard, by considering a multiple-UAV network where each UAV is associated to its own controlling operator, this paper addresses two major challenges: the selection of the UAV for the desired quality of network coverage and the development of a distributed and autonomous real-time monitoring framework for the enforcement of service level agreement (SLA). For a suitable UAV selection, we employ a reputation-based auction mechanism to model the interaction between the business agent who is interested in outsourcing the network coverage and the UAV operators serving in closeby areas. In addition, theoretical analysis is performed to show that the proposed auction mechanism attains a dominant strategy equilibrium. For the SLA enforcement and trust model, we propose a permissioned blockchain architecture considering Support Vector Machine (SVM) for real-time autonomous and distributed monitoring of UAV service. In particular, smart contract features of the blockchain are invoked for enforcing the SLA terms of payment and penalty, and for quantifying the UAV service reputation. Simulation results confirm the accuracy of theoretical analysis and efficacy of the proposed model

Propuestas del uso de Blockchain con enfoque de aplicación a internet de las cosas

Esta tesis de grado tipo informe de propuesta reúne los conceptos básicos y modela la idea de generar repostes de información tangible, tiene en cuenta aspectos normativos. Contiene: figuras explicativas de procesos asociados.El termino IoT fue mencionado por primera vez en el año de 1999 por su pionero Kevin Ashton en lo cual él describía un sistema donde los objetos tangibles se podían conectar a internet por medio de dispositivos especiales, sensores. El Internet de las cosas (IoT) es el proceso que permite conectar elementos físicos cotidianos al Internet [1]. Blockchain es un libro mayor compartido e inmutable que facilita el proceso de registro de transacciones y de seguimiento de activos en una red de negocios. Un activo puede ser tangible (una casa, un auto, dinero en efectivo, terrenos) o intangible (propiedad intelectual, patentes, derechos de autor, marcas). El artículo contextualiza brevemente propuestas de implementación de Blockchain en dispositivos de IoT en años recientes, se realizan conclusiones a partir de lo investigado.The term IoT was mentioned for the first time in 1999 by its pioneer Kevin Ashton in which he described a system where tangible objects could be connected to the internet through special devices, sensors. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the process that makes it possible to connect everyday physical elements to the Internet Blockchain is a shared and immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, a car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trademarks). The article contextualizes proposals for the implementation of blockchain in IoT devices in recent years, conclusions were made based on the research.PregradoIngeniero(a) de Sistemas y ComputaciónCONTENIDO RESUMEN ABSTRACT CONTENIDO ÍNDICE DE IMÁGENES ÍNDICE DE TABLAS GLOSARIO DE TÉRMINOS 1. INTRODUCCIÓN 1.1 Antecedentes de la idea 1.2 Internet de las cosas 1.2.1 Seguridad en IoT 1.2.2 Privacidad 1.2.3 Interoperabilidad y estándares 1.2.4 Aspectos del ámbito normativo 1.3 Tecnología Blockchain 2. DEFINICIÓN DEL PROBLEMA 2.1 Objetivo general 2.1.1 Objetivos específicos 3. MARCO REFERENCIAL 3.1 Estado del arte 4. METODOLOGÍA 5. MARCO TEÓRICO 6. RESULTADOS 7. CONCLUSIONES 8. RECOMENDACIONE

Measuring Decentrality in Blockchain Based Systems

Blockchain promises to provide a distributed and decentralized means of trust among untrusted users. However, in recent years, a shift from decentrality to centrality has been observed in the most accepted Blockchain system, i.e., Bitcoin. This shift has motivated researchers to identify the cause of decentrality, quantify decentrality and analyze the impact of decentrality. In this work, we take a holistic approach to identify and quantify decentrality in Blockchain based systems. First, we identify the emergence of centrality in three layers of Blockchain based systems, namely governance layer, network layer and storage layer. Then, we quantify decentrality in these layers using various metrics. At the governance layer, we measure decentrality in terms of fairness, entropy, Gini coefficient, Kullback-Leibler divergence, etc. Similarly, in the network layer, we measure decentrality by using degree centrality, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality. At the storage layer, we apply a distribution index to define centrality. Subsequently, we evaluate the decentrality in Bitcoin and Ethereum networks and discuss our observations. We noticed that, with time, both Bitcoin and Ethereum networks tend to behave like centralized systems where a few nodes govern the whole network