Selective Layered Blockchain Framework for Privacy-preserving Data Management in Low-latency Mobile Networks

With the gradual development of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data, and the considerable amount of data in mobile networks, low-latency communication and security management are becoming crucial. Blockchain is a data-distributed processing technology that tracks data records to support secure electronic money transactions and data security management in a peer-to-peer environment without the need of a central trusted authority. The data uploaded to the blockchain-shared ledger are immutable, making tracking integrity preservation facile. However, blockchain technology is limited because it is challenging to utilize in the industry owing to its inability to correct data, even when inaccurate data are uploaded. Accordingly, research on blockchain mechanisms that consider privacy-preserving data management is required to commercialize blockchain technology. Previously, off-chain, blacklist, and hard-fork methods have been proposed; however, their application is challenging or impractical. Therefore, to protect privacy, we propose a layered blockchain mechanism that can correct data by adding a buffer blockchain. We evaluated the latency, security, and space complexity of layered blockchains. The security and security-to-latency ratio for data management of the selective layered blockchain is 2.2 and 11.3 times higher than the conventional blockchains, respectively. The proposed selective layered blockchain is expected to promote the commercialization of blockchain technologies in various industries by protecting user privacy.