Integration of Blockchain and IPFS: healthcare data management & sharing for IoT Environment

Abstract

The immense volume of data generated and collected by smart devices has significantly enhanced various aspects of our daily lives. However, safeguarding the sensitive information shared among these devices is crucial. Ensuring the security of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem from unauthorized access is imperative. Blockchain technology emerges as a promising solution to address these security concerns. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of Blockchain in handling the extensive data generated by smart devices is challenged by the rapid pace of IoT data generation and the slower transaction validation speed within Blockchain networks. This research aims to resolve these issues by integrating Blockchain with the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS), creating a robust framework for secure data recording on a distributed storage network while enabling authorized access to the stored data. The proposed mechanism involves defining and recording access policies and cryptographic hash content on the Blockchain network, while storing the actual IoT-generated data on IPFS to enhance the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) triad. Performance assessments of the proposed scheme demonstrate its security and practicality, validating its potential for real-world application.