Data structure and privacy protection analysis in big data environment based on blockchain technology

In today's digital world, the rapid advancement of Information Technology (IT) has made it crucial to prioritize the protection and management of data storage and retrieval. It is vital to challenge the difficulties related to dispersed and decentralized data to build strong mechanisms for access control and provide effective authorization and authentication in data processing. In the contemporary context of IT, the imperative to secure data storage and retrieval has become distinctly observed. The challenges posed by distributed and decentralized data demand the development of robust mechanisms for access control, demanding a focus on proper authorization and authentication in transaction processing. This research addresses the existing gap by comprehensively adapting data structures effectively to the evolving needs of secure access and storage control. It uses the Enhanced Merkle Tree (EMT) as a novel data structure. This article initially modifies the conventional Merkle Tree (MT) structure used in Blockchain technology to suit e-healthcare Systems (e-HS) requirements. The EMT enhances data security in access and storage and significantly improves data integrity management. Its constant three-degree MT with multiple leaves, branches, and a single root node enables updated data authentication, verification, and validation procedures. The proposed method is applied to the e-HS scenario, and the proposed EMT outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques, achieving a minimal verification time of 14.26 m for 100 transactions. This research, therefore, contributes to the discourse on data security by presenting an innovative and efficient solution tailored to the unique challenges of e-health systems. © 2024 The Author