Blockchain-based Security for Internet of Medical Things Application

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network comprising of devices called "things" that are equipped with sensors, batteries, microcontrollers and radio transceivers for collecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) signifies IoT applications in the healthcare sector and aims to improve the healthcare sector's technological, economic, and social aspects. An important concern in the IoMT is the security and privacy preservation of patient data. For IoMT to be widely adopted, assurance of data security and prevention of unauthorized access is of paramount importance. Presently IoMT applications incorporate centralized data storage which suffers from issues such as a single point of failure, a lack of strong protection against record tampering, hacking, data theft, trust and reliability. All of these issues can be resolved if IoMT adopts the blockchain technology leading to Blockchain-based IoT (BIoT) applications. Blockchain is a technology that aids in tracking, coordinating, and information sharing for a significant number of devices by maintaining ledgers of transactions on all connected peers, eliminating the need for a central server. This paper presents work related to the integration of multi-ledger blockchain architecture in IoMT and analyzes its security and resource implications. The results show that transition from centralized IoMT to decentralized BIoT introduces independence from the third parties, improves security, and removes a single point of failure. Additionally, the presented multi-ledger blockchain architecture with limited nodes demonstrates blockchain's scalability and adaptability with resource-limited IoMT devices.