Privacy protection in steel supply chain via blockchain and attribute-based proxy re-encryption

With the rapid advancement of globalization and digitalization, the steel supply chain has become increasingly complex, raising significant concerns regarding data privacy and security. Traditional supply chain management models face critical limitations in ensuring data confidentiality, transparency, and efficient data sharing, rendering them inadequate for the evolving demands of the modern steel industry. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a blockchain-based mechanism for secure and private data sharing within the steel supply chain. The proposed framework integrates attribute-based proxy re-encryption (ABPRE) with a blockchain-enabled storage and sharing scheme, which not only ensures user data privacy but also enhances system execution efficiency. By leveraging ABPRE, data owners can share encrypted information directly with other authorized users without the need for repeated encryption, uploading, or downloading, significantly reducing access pressure on cloud storage. Compared to conventional cloud-based solutions, our scheme demonstrates superior security capabilities and practical efficiency. The integration of InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) further optimizes decentralized data storage and access, while the database-level privacy protection mechanism maintains data integrity during storage and transmission. Additionally, the use of smart contracts automates encryption and decryption operations, improving flexibility in access control management. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme effectively preserves data privacy while outperforming existing ABPRE schemes in terms of both security and computational efficiency. Its application to steel supply chain management demonstrates strong practical viability and technical robustness.