How Blockchain Technology Can Accelerate the Potential of IoT?

It is proved that the Internet of Things (IoT) links people, places, and things, and by doing so, it creates and captures opportunities for value. Physical objects now contain sophisticated electronics, sensors, and actuators that all relay data to the IoT network. The IoT's analytics capabilities employ this data to turn insights into actions that have an influence on company processes and inspire new ways of doing things. But there are still a few technical and security issues that need to be resolved.The Internet of Things (IoT), a revolutionary emergent technology, has advanced quickly, yet its privacy issues and security flaws continue to be major obstacles. Blockchain's distributed and decentralized architecture can meet the IoT's privacy and security needs. The new field of blockchain technology for IoT (BIoT) is therefore born. Numerous industries will undergo considerable change as a result of BIoT, opening the door for new business strategies. The goal of this study is to investigate research trends and collaboration in the area of BIoT utilizing the bibliometric technique, using the Science Citations Index Extended (SCIE) and the Social Sciences Citations Index (SSCI) datasets in the of Science, or WoS, Core Collection.

Introduction

Applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) have been growing quickly in recent years and are now essential to the advancement of society. In fact, the Internet of Things (IoT) will make human living conditions more comfortable through a variety of applications coming from different industrial domains, such as smart homes, smart healthcare, farming, transportation, retail, and wearable technology.

IoT's widespread deployment has been hampered by a severe security problem. Because of their many security flaws, Internet of Things (IoT) devices are prime targets of Distributed Denial of Service, or DDoS, attacks. DDoS attacks cause a denial of service to users of the target system when numerous compromised computer systems flood a target-such as a central server-with a massive amount of simultaneous data requests. DDoS assaults have disrupted businesses and individuals over the past few years. Cybercriminals can easily target unprotected IoT devices and use their lax security to hack them so they can conduct DDoS attacks.

Scalability is another problem with current IoT networks. Current centralized solutions to authenticate, authorize, and link diverse nodes in a network will become a bottleneck when the amount of devices linked through an IoT network rises. The entire network could crash if the server goes down, which would need significant expenditures on computers that are capable of handling the volume of information transmission.

Blockchain, also known as distributed database technology (DLT), is another ground-breaking innovation that may be able to aid with some of the IoT's scalability and security issues. Due to its distinctive features and advantages, blockchain is a "game changer" in the information age. A blockchain system's fundamental component is a distributed digital record that is shared among system users and is located on the Internet. Transactions or events are verified and added to the ledger, after which they cannot be changed or deleted. It offers a method for a user community to gather and share information. Selected members of this community keep their own copies of the ledger, and any new transactions must be approved by the community as a whole through a process of consensus before being added to the ledger.

How can blockchain overcome the scalability and security issues with IoT?

In the event of a cyberattack by cybercriminals, it may be challenging to determine the reason for any data leaks because the IoT network might handle data transactions across numerous devices which are owned and managed by various businesses. In addition, the IoT produces an enormous quantity of data, and because there are many stakeholders, it is frequently not clear who is the owner of the data.IoT security and scalability challenges can be reduced by blockchain in the following ways:

• A blockchain system's distributed ledger is tamper-proof, eliminating the trust requirement between the parties. The massive amounts of data that IoT devices create are not under the authority of any one entity.
• By storing IoT data on the blockchain, additional security would be added, making it more difficult for hackers to access the network. Blockchain offers a significantly higher standard of encryption that virtually prohibits overwriting pre-existing data records.
• Transparency is provided by a blockchain, which enables anybody with authorization to get onto the network to view a history of all previous transactions. This can offer a trustworthy technique to pinpoint the origin of any data leaks and take prompt corrective action.
• Blockchain can help IoT organizations cut costs by removing processing overheads associated with IoT gateways (for example, conventional protocol, hardware, or communication-related costs). Blockchain does this by providing a means to enable trust among the stakeholders.

Smart contracts, a two-party agreement that is recorded in the distributed ledger, can also enable the implementation of contractual agreements among stakeholders subject to the fulfillment of certain requirements. Smart contracts, for instance, can automatically allow payments when the requirements for rendering the service have been met, requiring no human involvement.

Possibilities for Growth

Four different sorts of initiatives should be taken by businesses to fortify the links between their suppliers, but they must be patient because it will take time to carry out these actions and see results.

• Include tracking and IoT capabilities : Businesses should give their supply chains IoT functionality to monitor finished goods inventory and trace individual components at the unit level. IoT is the ability of devices to employ sensors that gather data, such as pressure, temperature, GPS setting, and bar code scanning, and to upload this data on their own to a cloud server through the Internet.

IoT enables businesses to get novel forms of data from various points along their supply chain. These tools, for instance, can monitor the creation of a packaged food item from the sourcing of components through manufacture, transportation, and retail, as well as the state of the stock and operational conditions in the production and logistics facilities.

• Note transactional information: Blockchains, which are capable of capturing incredibly precise decentralized data and may be used to confirm the validity of transaction records, should be used by organizations to store information about transactions from IoT devices. This information can be used by a company to assure ethical sourcing, enhance the implementation of supply chain agreements, and secure better financing.

A system based on the blockchain can be implemented in a decentralized, piecemeal approach, which eliminates the need for significant IT system investments or expensive third-party certification.

• Align and standardize data from many sources : To leverage the information gathered from Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets in a supply chain, this is required.Consider a company that utilizes inventory scanners to monitor the flow of inventory into and out of a fulfillment center and temperature sensors to record the storage temperature every hour. To find out which inventory items were kept at a particular temperature for how long, the company must line up these data tables.
• Create analytics that is predictive and prescriptive : For instance, temperature information from fulfillment centers can be used to forecast when a food item will decay or ripen. The planning of inventories and the creation of marketing for food goods that will soon go bad can then be guided by this predictive model. This will increase revenue and decrease food waste.

An agri-tech company called Ripe.io used data on tomato production's traceability to link the flavor of ripened cherries to the growing environment. The company was able to develop various tomato varieties in accordance with the demands of various consumer segments thanks to predictive analytics.

IoT and blockchain adoption factors to take into account

As previously explained, the security design of current IoT systems has a fundamental flaw. It uses a centralized client-server architecture that is controlled by a central authority, making it vulnerable to a single point of malfunction. Blockchain provides a solution to this issue by decentralized decision-making to a common network of devices that relies on consensus. However, there are three primary difficulties to take into account while building an infrastructure for IoT devices when combined with a blockchain ledger:

Scalability: How to manage the enormous amounts of data generated by an extensive system of devices and potentially slower processing of transactions speeds or latency is one of the key challenges that IoT is still facing. Setting up an easily understood data model in advance helps save time and avoid problems when implementing the solution.

Secrecy of transactions: and network privacy. On open blockchains, it is difficult to readily grant confidentiality of the history of transactions in the joint record for an ensemble of IoT devices. This is because transaction pattern evaluation can be used to draw conclusions about the users' or devices' identities hidden behind public keys. Organizations should examine their privacy needs to determine whether hybrid or exclusive blockchains would better meet those needs.

Sensors: By conflicting with the accurate measurement of the requirements that must be completed in order to conduct a transaction, it is possible to jeopardize the dependability of IoT sensors. Securing an appropriate setting for data collection and transactions requires steps to preserve the confidentiality of IoT devices so that external interventions cannot change them.

Enhanced Transparency, Trust, and Privacy of Data Protection : Many people are concerned about centralized governmental bodies or businesses gathering their data and private data, including footage of their daily lives at home. Blockchain operates on a decentralized network, where no organization or governing body has authority over and ownership of all the user's personal data. This helps to alleviate trust issues and worries about data privacy.Blockchain provides transparency by making it possible for anybody with access rights to the network to view a history of all previous transactions. This might offer a dependable technique to locate the exact location of any data leaks and initiate prompt corrective action.

IoT and blockchain are cutting-edge technologies with enormous potential, but they haven't been widely used because of technical and security issues. Since the two technologies can be used in use cases that minimize security risks and other business hazards, many companies in the marketplace are already developing such use cases.

Challenges in IoT and Blockchain Integration

The limitations imposed by the short battery life of various IoT devices are one of the main problems with merging blockchain with IoT. Battery life may be a limiting concern for some IoT devices since they may only sometimes be linked to WiFi or power sources. Small devices with low battery life cannot be paired with a blockchain transaction system that requires high computing and bandwidth. As a result, either a server-based infrastructure or a separate gateway device must be developed. Multiple parties and players within the same environment also add complexity. For example, when companies from different sectors try to collaborate and connect their devices (for example, when intelligent refrigerators or home appliances try to connect to a chain of supermarkets, which in turn tries to connect to the telecommunications provider that offers the 5G wireless connection and the business that builds and oversees the network infrastructure).

Conclusion

Although implementing blockchain technology in IoT ecosystems has its obstacles, these differ from the efficiency and productivity that may be achieved. The technology will need time to develop, as will the adoption of it. However, more individuals, organizations, and communities will wish to join as time goes on. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers a wealth of potential for value generation and capture by connecting people, locations, and things.

According to Cisco, there will be 14.7 billion machine-to-machine (M2M) connections by 2023, up from 33% in 2018. Connected home applications will account for nearly half of these connections, while linked car applications will experience the greatest growth at a CAGR of 30%. Currently, most IoT solutions use a centralized server-client architecture that entails establishing connections to cloud servers over the Internet.

Multiple goals must be met by supply chains, including a high level of customer satisfaction, profitability targets, and disruption resistance. By ensuring their manufacturing and distribution systems are secure and environmentally friendly, that raw materials are sourced from environmentally friendly sources, and that workers receive fair compensation, businesses are also starting to prepare their supply chains for a responsible future. Until recently, accomplishing these objectives would have been extremely expensive, requiring organizations to compromise. However, these goals are becoming more and more realistic thanks to analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain technologies.