A Blockchain-based Access and Management System for IoT Devices

Recent developments in distributed ledger technologies have created a whole new set of possibilities in the way of managing trust, security, privacy and traceability in computer-based transactions, principles which are increasingly gaining importance in the world of IoT. Currently, IoT devices are generally based on centralized, client-server systems, where digital service providers have complete control over user data and information generated by their devices. In this paper we present the development of a decentralized access and management system for IoT devices, where operations on these devices, such as the installation and management of apps are handled by a blockchain-based identification and record system. The system prototype consists of a smartphone application acting as a management hub for the whole system, an IoT device API implementation for allowing secure access to management and data functionalities, and a set of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, where all necessary information for the functioning of the system is stored. The system allows app developers to provide their apps as Docker containers for IoT devices without the need to publish them on a centralized app store, and a regular user can subscribe to and access the available applications by paying in cryptocurrency without revealing any private information to the system. A cost and performance evaluation have been performed to assess the feasibility of the proposed solution.