Blockchain-Based Solution for Supply Chain Data Integrity

Abstract

Data plays a crucial role in today's world, guiding business decisions across various computer- assisted activities. Maintaining the integrity of data is vital, as any tampering could have serious consequences for important business decisions. This concern is particularly significant in cloud computing settings, where data owners have limited control over key aspects like physical storage and access control. Blockchain technology has emerged as an intriguing solution to address data integrity concerns. With its inherent properties, blockchain offers promising avenues for ensuring data integrity. However, some challenges need to be overcome, such as low throughput, high latency, and stability issues, which currently limit the practical implementation of blockchain-based solutions. we focus on a case study from the European SUNFISH project, which aims to develop a secure cloud federation platform for the public sector. We examine the specific data integrity requirements in cloud computing environments and identify the research questions that need to be addressed to implement blockchain-based databases effectively. We start by outlining the open research questions and the inherent difficulties associated with addressing them. Then, we propose a preliminary design for a blockchain-based database tailored to cloud computing environments. This design aims to leverage the strengths of blockchain technology while addressing the challenges unique to cloud computing. By addressing these research questions and proposing practical solutions, we aim to pave the way for the adoption of blockchain-based databases in cloud computing environments. This has the potential to enhance data integrity and security, ultimately benefiting organizations operating in the cloud.