Permissioned Blockchain: Securing Industrial IoT Environments

Abstract

With the significantly increased use of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), it is believed that this technology will revolutionize industrial applications and infrastructures by connecting several industrial assets. But it is getting prone to many cyberattacks and security issues. The emerging security challenges of IIoT can have a devastating effect since it deals with mission and safety-critical systems. Thus, it becomes extremely important to address the security vulnerabilities and susceptibilities of this technology. Blockchain, being one of the most significant solutions to several technologies’ security problems, can play a vital role in improving the security of IIoT. Therefore, this paper proposes to use a Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain-enabled IIoT that guarantees the security of the communication medium, data storage, access, and sharing between the IIoT devices and ensures to provide limited access to the authorized identities only. This system also monitors the user access and makes sure that the transactions are performed according to their roles defined by the Certificate Authority (CA) and Membership Service Provider (MSP). Moreover, this paper presents the findings on the implementation of the blockchain network and addresses the key challenges. It evaluates the performance of the proposed network and discusses the key areas to be improved. Finally, the paper describes the benefits of the permissioned blockchain for IIoT and presents a future direction for further research and study.