ConSenseIoT: A Consensus Algorithm for Secure and Scalable Blockchain in the IoT context

Abstract

Data protection and privacy is a major concern in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, and the excessive use of IoT devices may risk the security of the network. Blockchain solutions are used to enhance the trustworthiness and eliminate the need for trusted third parties by providing mechanisms to reach consensus in a network of trustless participants. The consensus algorithms employed by blockchain architectures ensure the integrity of the data stored in the blockchain, the resiliency of the network and manage the security of devices. However, current solutions are compute intensive affecting the performance of the network and consuming much energy. In this work, we introduce a consensus algorithm for offering secure distributed consensus among IoT devices without affecting the performance of the network. The algorithm is inspired by existing solutions, employs decentralised identities, verifiable credentials and a decentralised trust management mechanism to guarantee security, privacy and trustworthiness of transactions. Finally, our algorithm combines technologies for operating in a distributed manner which favors the scalability and allow the effective integration in large scale networks.