Immutable Characteristics Research Articles

Research on the Application of Blockchain Technology in Cold Chain Logistics for Agricultural Products

With the continuous advancement of science and technology and the advent of the digital era, blockchain technology is increasingly demonstrating its great potential across various industries due to its unique features of decentralization, transparency, and immutability. In particular, in the cold chain logistics of agricultural products, the application of blockchain technology can not only enhance logistics efficiency but also ensure food safety and boost consumer trust. This paper first outlines the advantages of blockchain technology in cold chain logistics for agricultural products, and then clarifies the application pathways of blockchain technology in this field, providing a reference for relevant researchers.

Automatic Recommender System of Development Platforms for Smart Contract-Based Health Care Insurance Fraud Detection Solutions: Taxonomy and Performance Evaluation.

Health care insurance fraud is on the rise in many ways, such as falsifying information and hiding third-party liability. This can result in significant losses for the medical health insurance industry. Consequently, fraud detection is crucial. Currently, companies employ auditors who manually evaluate records and pinpoint fraud. However, an automated and effective method is needed to detect fraud with the continually increasing number of patients seeking health insurance. Blockchain is an emerging technology and is constantly evolving to meet business needs. With its characteristics of immutability, transparency, traceability, and smart contracts, it demonstrates its potential in the health care domain. In particular, self-executable smart contracts are essential to reduce the costs associated with traditional paradigms, which are mostly manual, while preserving privacy and building trust among health care stakeholders, including the patient and the health insurance networks. However, with the proliferation of blockchain development platform options, selecting the right one for health care insurance can be difficult. This study addressed this void and developed an automated decision map recommender system to select the most effective blockchain platform for insurance fraud detection. This study aims to develop smart contracts for detecting health care insurance fraud efficiently. Therefore, we provided a taxonomy of fraud scenarios and implemented their detection using a blockchain platform that was suitable for health care insurance fraud detection. To automatically and efficiently select the best platform, we proposed and implemented a decision map-based recommender system. For developing the decision-map, we proposed a taxonomy of 102 blockchain platforms. We developed smart contracts for 12 fraud scenarios that we identified in the literature. We used the top 2 blockchain platforms selected by our proposed decision-making map-based recommender system, which is tailored for health care insurance fraud. The map used our taxonomy of 102 blockchain platforms classified according to their application domains. The recommender system demonstrated that Hyperledger Fabric was the best blockchain platform for identifying health care insurance fraud. We validated our recommender system by comparing the performance of the top 2 platforms selected by our system. The blockchain platform taxonomy that we created revealed that 59 blockchain platforms are suitable for all application domains, 25 are suitable for financial services, and 18 are suitable for various application domains. We implemented fraud detection based on smart contracts. Our decision map recommender system, which was based on our proposed taxonomy of 102 platforms, automatically selected the top 2 platforms, which were Hyperledger Fabric and Neo, for the implementation of health care insurance fraud detection. Our performance evaluation of the 2 platforms indicated that Fabric surpassed Neo in all performance metrics, as depicted by our recommender system. We provided an implementation of fraud detection based on smart contracts.

MetaBlock: A Revolutionary System for Healthcare Industry Fusing Metaverse and Blockchain

The Metaverse is like another world functioning parallel to the actual physical world. It merges physical reality with digital virtuality by the convergence of different technologies that enable interactions with virtual objects and environment. The complete immersive experience with metaverse generates huge data which comes with its own set of challenges, a major one being the security and storage of user centric data. Considerably, blockchain offers a significant solution due to its exceptional features of decentralization, immutability, and transparency. For a detailed insight into the role of blockchain in the metaverse, the paper explores its usage in the healthcare industry. The paper then proposes a healthcare system named MetaBlock that is a fusion of both the metaverse and blockchain techniques. The paper discusses the components of the system from a detailed technical interpretation, such as data acquisition, data storage, virtual object and space simulation, data sharing and data privacy protection. Finally, an important research direction in terms of distributed consensus mechanism is discussed.

On Identity, Transaction, and Smart Contract Privacy on Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain: A Comprehensive Survey

Blockchain is a decentralized distributed ledger that combines multiple technologies, including chain data structures, P2P networks, consensus algorithms, cryptography, and smart contracts. This gives the blockchain the characteristics of decentralization, immutability, and traceability. However, blockchain stores smart contracts and transactions in blocks publicly, which poses the risk of data leakage and misuse. For example, by mining and analyzing blockchain transaction information, attackers can correlate transactions with user information, resulting in the disclosure of user privacy. Many current reviews focus on the privacy of permissionless blockchains or cryptocurrencies, requiring more in-depth investigations and detailed categorical analysis. To fill this gap, this work comprehensively reviews the latest and traditional methods related to identity, transaction, and smart contract privacy within permissioned and permissionless blockchains. Additionally, we summarize the existing problems, threats, and challenges of data management in different blockchain architectures. Last, we discuss future research directions for blockchain privacy protection technology, which can offer feasible ideas for researchers to explore further.

Blockchain as a Facilitator For Secure Migration: A Case Study of E-Commerce in Indonesia

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the role of blockchain technology as a facilitator for secure data migration in the Indonesian e-commerce sector, with the aim of Amidst the growing concerns over data security and privacy in online transactions, blockchain emerges as a potential solution due to its inherent characteristics of decentralization, transparency, and immutability. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented. this study delves into the multifaceted role of blockchain technology in e-commerce, particularly focusing on enhancing data security and fostering consumer trust, a critical concern in the digital marketplace. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises a qualitative approach, utilizing case studies of Indonesian e-commerce platforms to examine how blockchain technology can enhance data security during migration processes. Through in-depth interviews and document analysis, the study explores the current challenges faced by e-commerce platforms in managing data security and how blockchain integration can address these issues. The results obtained that blockchain technology not only strengthens data security but also fosters trust among users, which is crucial for the growth of e-commerce. Results and Discussion: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of The study also identifies the barriers to blockchain adoption, including technological complexity and regulatory uncertainties. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the understanding of blockchain applications in e-commerce, particularly in the context of a developing country, and provides insights for businesses and policymakers in adopting blockchain for secure data management.

Blockchain Technology for Integrating Electronic Records of Digital Healthcare System

Background: In most healthcare facilities, the shift from paper-based medical records to electronic health records (EHRs) has taken place. However, there are issues with credibility, management, and secure data storage with the existing EHR systems. In the healthcare industry, interoperability and user control over personal data are also major challenges. Block chain technology has become a potent tool that can provide immutability, security, and user control over records that are saved; yet, its potential usage in EHR systems is still not well understood. Objectives: This research attempts to close this knowledge gap by developing an EHR framework that is built on blockchain technology and is compatible with many national and international EHR standards, including HL7 and HIPAA. Methods: In order to investigate the state of the art in the field of EHRs, including blockchain-based EHR implementations, a systematic literature review is the study approach used. Results: The report analyzes numerous national and international EHR standards, identifies the interoperability needs based on these standards, and outlines the interoperability challenges in the current blockchain-based EHR frameworks. Without the requirement for centralized systems, the suggested framework can give the healthcare industry safer ways to exchange health information while also offering the features of immutability, security, and user control over stored records. Conclusion: This work contributes to the understanding of Blockchain technology's potential application in EHR frameworks and offers an interoperable Blockchain-based EHR framework that can meet the requirements outlined in multiple national and international EHR standards.

3D printing and blockchain: aeronautical manufacturing in the digital era

ABSTRACT This research highlights the incorporation of 3D printing and blockchain technology into aeronautical manufacturing and certification procedures with an aim to increase operational efficiency. The integration of 3D printing allows for streamlined production, while the immutable features of blockchain provide traceability and certification advantages, thus offering the potential for transformative impacts within the aviation supply chain. This study primarily focuses on investigating the implications and multiple benefits of this integration into the aviation industry. Furthermore, given the absence of economic assessments priorly conducted on this integration, the study also includes a mathematical formulation that provides a quantifiable measure of the achievable return on investment. Two distinct case studies provide real data as evidence supporting the efficacy of this proposed integrated model. The outcome suggests a new paradigm for the supply chain ecosystem, leading to operational improvements and economic benefits.

Holier Than Thou? No Large Partisan Gaps in the Consumption of Pornography Online

Consumption of pornography has been blamed for a variety of societal ills, including the rise in misogyny, sex crimes, and the coarsening of the culture. Using passively collected browsing data from YouGov, we investigate how much pornography Americans consume online. We find that there is a sharp positive skew in the consumption of pornography, with a small number of users consuming lots of pornography and most consuming small amounts. Only about 32 percent of respondents consumed pornography online during the month-long observation period. Of the people who consumed pornography, the median consumer spent about three-quarters of an hour consuming pornography and 95 percent of the consumers spent less than five and a half hours. Lastly, in line with previous research (MacInnis and Hodson, 2015; Edelman, 2009), which was based on aggregated data, we find that Republicans consume slightly more pornography online than Democrats. Adjusting for immutable characteristics like age and gender makes the differences go away.

A Blockchain Based Security system framework in Healthcare Domain using IoT

In the contemporary healthcare domain, the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has revolutionized patient care, enabling real-time monitoring, enhanced diagnostics, and personalized treatment plans. However, this digital transformation is accompanied by unprecedented challenges in ensuring the security and privacy of sensitive healthcare data. Traditional cybersecurity measures often fall short in addressing the complexity and dynamism of IoT ecosystems. This research introduces a novel blockchain-based security system framework specifically designed for the healthcare sector utilizing IoT. By leveraging the inherent security, transparency, and immutability features of blockchain technology, the proposed framework provides a robust solution to safeguard healthcare data integrity, ensure privacy, and enable secure patient data sharing among authorized entities. Through a comprehensive system architecture, this paper delineates the integration of IoT devices with a blockchain network, highlighting the deployment of smart contracts for automated access control, and data encryption mechanisms to preserve confidentiality. An empirical evaluation demonstrates the framework's effectiveness in enhancing data security while maintaining system efficiency. The discussion extends to the implications of this framework for the future of healthcare IT security, addressing potential challenges and suggesting avenues for further research. This study not only contributes to advancing the state of cybersecurity in healthcare IoT but also lays the groundwork for future innovations in the field.

Ballots and Padlocks: Building Digital Trust and Security in Democracy through Information Governance Strategies and Blockchain Technologies

This research explores the integration of Information Governance (IG) strategies and Blockchain Technologies (BT) in enhancing digital trust and security within democratic processes. Amid concerns about the integrity and vulnerability of electoral systems in the digital era, this study examines how these technologies can collectively safeguard democracy. Utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), bootstrapping analysis for mediation effects, and the Fornell-Larcker Criterion for discriminant validity, the analysis was conducted on data from 934 participants involved in the electoral process. Key findings demonstrate that IG strategies significantly impact digital trust, indicating the importance of robust data management, legal compliance, and privacy measures for public confidence in electoral systems. Blockchain Technologies positively affect the security of democratic processes due to their decentralized and immutable characteristics. Furthermore, digital trust is identified as a critical mediator between IG strategies, BT, and the security of democratic processes, highlighting the importance of trust in the effectiveness of these technologies. Based on the insights gained, three actionable recommendations are proposed: Electoral authorities should adopt comprehensive IG frameworks to enhance data integrity and transparency; Pilot blockchain projects should be expanded to refine and understand the broader implementation implications for election security; Efforts should be increased to foster digital literacy and trust among the electorate, emphasizing the role of these technologies in securing electoral integrity.

Cost-benefit Analysis of Adopting Blockchain Technology in the Radiology Unit of a District Hospital

Background Blockchain technology has better security and immutable features, which are beneficial for healthcare data management. Decentralisation data management allows better sharing of medical images between units and departments. Objectives The objectives of this study were to determine the cost of adopting the blockchain-based system for medical images and the cost-benefit analysis for five years of adoption of this technology at a district hospital in Malaysia. Methodology Data regarding the yearly costs and workload for 2016 until 2018 were collected from a district hospital in Malaysia. The cost of blockchain implementation was obtained from a company that developed this technology. The cost-benefit analysis was done using the capital budgeting method for five years of this technology adoption. Sensitivity analysis was done to assess uncertainty conditions during this adoption. Results The total yearly cost of Radiology Unit for 2018 was MYR490,168.96. The cost for adopting blockchain technology was MYR80,000 for the software, MYR115,000 for upgrading the assets and yearly maintenance cost was MYR16,000. The total present value of net benefits for five years of technology adoption was MYR865,295.01. Sensitivity analysis shows that consumables cost-saving is the most sensitive variable. Most pessimistic situation analyses showed positive net benefits. Conclusion The adoption of blockchain technology in managing medical images offers numerous benefits to public hospitals in Malaysia. Investment in this technology can provide a good return to the organisation.

Blockchain Technology in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Beyond

Blockchain technology has gained significant attention for its decentralized, secure, transparent, and immutable characteristics. It has been adopted in various domains, including the financial and education sectors. This systematic review provides a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities, challenges, and future educational prospects of blockchain technology by examining published research from various disciplines. A bibliometric approach was adopted using R Studio. Datasets were sourced from the Scopus database, which included Scopusindexed articles from 2018 to 2022. The keywords “blockchain” and “education” were used to retrieve relevant articles. Specific criteria were applied to filter the literature sources, ensuring that our discussions focused on the applications and challenges of blockchain technology in education. We only considered articles written in English, specifically those published in proceedings and journals. The review identified that blockchain technology has the potential to transform education by enhancing data security, facilitating efficient verification and credentialing processes, and enabling peer-to-peer transactions. However, addressing challenges such as adoption, technical expertise, data privacy, security, and standardization is crucial. Therefore, the study concludes that implementing blockchain technology in education can yield significant benefits for future generations. These benefits include reducing the gap in global education and increasing transparency and accountability in the education sector.

SecureSIoTChain: A relationship enhanced Blockchain Operational Security Framework for the Social Internet of Things

The Social Internet of Things (SIoT) is a fast growing technology that autonomously connects things, allowing for exchange of information depending on relationships. However, the open nature of SIoT exposes it to various security challenges, such as default passwords, brute-forcing attacks, data privacy breaches, and an increasing number of IoT botnets. To address these vulnerabilities, a novel operational security framework for SIoT, leveraging the robust properties of blockchain technology. The primary objectives of the operational security model are to establish a secure and trusted environment in SIoT, protect sensitive data, ensure reliable device authentication, and enable secure and encrypted communication in SIoT operations. The proposed model combines key features of blockchain, including decentralization, immutability, transparency, and cryptographic mechanisms, with SIoT security operations. Techniques like encryption, anonymization and differential privacy are employed to preserve privacy in SIoT devices and safeguard sensitive data. An empirical assessment of this operational security framework yields promising outcomes in the pursuit of its defined objectives. It furnishes a decentralized and tamper-proof foundation for device authentication, thereby cementing the trustworthiness of SIoT devices. Moreover, the proposed Graph Neural Network (GNN) model eclipses the performance of traditional models, boasting a 95% accuracy, a 96% precision, a 95% recall, and a 95% F1-score. This achievement can be attributed to the incorporation of computations that encapsulate both transitivity and composability among devices. In tandem, the suggested framework emerges triumphant when compared to other methodologies, spanning diverse metrics such as throughput, latency, security score, privacy score, and trust score. Notably, this framework not only secures communication but also upholds data integrity and confidentiality, ensuring exclusive access to SIoT devices and data by authorized entities. The proposed SIoT framework, with 280 Tx/s throughput, 2.2 seconds latency, 9.5 security score, 9.0 privacy score, and 9.5 trust score, outperforms other authors’ models across all the parameters.

Securing IoT Devices from DDoS Attacks through Blockchain and Multi-Code Trust Framework

In an era where IoT devices are integral components of numerous systems, their security from prevalent DDoS attacks has become imperative. The traditional security protocols are unable to withstand the sophisticated nature of these attacks, presenting an escalating vulnerability issue in the network security ecosystem. This research proposes a revolutionary approach to address these challenges through a “Blockchain and Multi-Code Trust Framework” utilizing the “UNB IoT DDoS Data Set.” Leveraging the decentralized and immutable characteristics of blockchain technology, alongside a multi-code driven trust mechanism, this framework aims to create a secure, robust, and resilient environment for IoT devices. Our methodology capitalizes on blockchain's transparency to foster trust and validation in network transactions, significantly reducing the threat surface for DDoS attacks. Furthermore, the incorporation of a multi-code system intensifies the security measures, providing several layers of protection against potential breaches. Data sets used in this study encompass diverse real-world IoT network traffic, meticulously collected from the “UNB IoT DDoS Data Set,” to facilitate a comprehensive analysis of the system's performance under various attack scenarios. Our preliminary findings indicate a remarkable improvement in the security posture of IoT devices, exhibiting a substantial reduction in successful DDoS attacks, thereby achieving a new pinnacle in IoT security. This research not only proposes a robust solution to a pressing issue but also opens avenues for further innovations in IoT device security using blockchain technology.

Application of data asset registration technology in smart grid management

In order to solve the problem of smart grid data asset registration, this paper proposes a smart grid data asset registration system based on blockchain. The system uses the decentralization and immutable characteristics of blockchain to achieve the digital management of devices and assets in the smart grid, and uses smart contracts to encrypt and authenticate the data to ensure that the data is real and reliable. At the same time, the system can incorporate data asset registration into the scope of smart grid management, forming a complete data asset management system. In this paper, the blockchain technology is briefly introduced, and then the framework of smart grid data asset registration system based on blockchain is proposed, and its feasibility is analyzed. Finally, the paper introduces the application of smart grid data asset registration system based on blockchain technology in a provincial power grid company.

Blockchain ABE Algorithm in Information System Data Security and Data Delay Encryption

Data security of an information system and data delay encryption are two of the key issues in the digital age. One of the research directions is to integrate blockchain with attribute encryption algorithm, ensuring data security, privacy, reducing decryption complexity and improving the efficiency of decryption. This study makes use of the ABE algorithm of blockchain, combines the advantages of attribute encryption and blockchain technology, and takes the blockchain as the carrier to complete fine-grained scheme for data access control and efficient decryption. By associating the attributes used for data encryption and access permissions, and giving full play to distributed and immutable characteristics of blockchain, secure and reliable data sharing and access control can be realized. The experimental results show that the encryption/decryption time based on blockchain ABE algorithm is 7-15 seconds, and the traditional method needs 14-20 seconds. The ABE algorithm of blockchain has a very important application prospect in the data security of the information system and data delay encryption.

Blockchain and Business Process Management (BPM) Synergy: A Comparative Analysis of Modeling Approaches

Blockchain technology has become a powerful disruptive force that upends established ideas in several industries. A fascinating point of convergence is that of blockchain technology and Business Process Management (BPM), where the distributed and immutable characteristics of blockchain promise to completely transform the modeling, implementation, and oversight of business processes. This symbiosis offers a singular chance to develop corporate processes that are more efficient, safe, and transparent. Nevertheless, to guarantee that blockchain-specific components are accurately represented in these processes, modeling techniques need to be critically examined as part of integrating blockchain into BPM. This literature review examines blockchain-BPM integration using different modeling methodologies. Though well-established, traditional BPM approaches may need help with blockchain-specific aspects. Blockchain-oriented modeling includes smart contracts and decentralized consensus. Hybrid models with blockchain and traditional elements are popular. Adaptability, model clarity, and blockchain integration are evaluated in the analysis. This literature review aims to improve corporate processes’ efficiency, security, and transparency by investigating how to model the integration of blockchain and BPM better.

IoT Security in the Era of Ubiquitous Computing: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Addressing Vulnerabilities and Promoting Resilience

The Internet of Things (IoT) has rapidly become a pivotal, transformative force, seamlessly integrating billions of physical devices through sophisticated networks of embedded sensors, software, and internet connectivity. This expansive and interconnected ecosystem offers a broad spectrum of applications, significantly benefiting urban infrastructure with innovative solutions, enhancing industrial operations through optimization, and enriching consumer experiences with smart devices for safety and convenience. Despite the numerous benefits, the widespread adoption of IoT technologies has challenges, particularly in security and privacy. The proliferation of IoT devices has opened up new avenues for potential cyber threats, posing risks of data breaches and privacy violations. An in-depth analysis of notable IoT security incidents, such as the 2015 Jeep Hack, the Owlet WiFi Baby Heart Monitor Hack, and the TRENDnet Webcam Hack, highlights the critical vulnerabilities inherent in many IoT systems.
 Organizations must adopt comprehensive and robust security measures to address these security concerns, including implementing advanced encryption protocols, deploying effective firewalls stringent access control mechanisms, and conducting regular security audits. A multi-layered security architecture becomes essential in mitigating such threats and ensuring the integrity of IoT networks. Furthermore, integrating blockchain technology presents a promising enhancement to IoT security and privacy protocols. Blockchain's inherent features of decentralization, transparency, and immutability offer an additional layer of security, making it more difficult for unauthorized entities to compromise IoT systems.
 Equally crucial is the need to elevate IoT security awareness among organizations; this can be achieved through persistent research, fostering collaborations with security experts, and promoting best practices in IoT security. By actively addressing these security challenges, organizations can not only harness the full potential of IoT but also protect their reputations, build trust with stakeholders, and ensure the privacy and safety of their data. Therefore, while IoT presents an array of opportunities for innovation and efficiency, the importance of vigilance in security cannot be overstated. Balancing the benefits of IoT with robust security measures will be vital to realizing its full potential safely and reliably.

Dynamic Evolution of Repeated Pledge in FTW from the Perspective of Blockchain Empowerment

Due to information asymmetry, finance, transportation and warehouse financing gives rise to the issue of repeated pledge, which amplifies the risk of the loan business of financial institutions. In tandem with advancements in fintech, blockchain technology plays a significant role in the supply chain finance realm, primarily because of its core characteristics of being difficult to tamper with and decentralized. Therefore, this study constructed an evolutionary game model involving financial institutions, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and third-party logistics enterprises under a blockchain-enabled model and scrutinized the repeated pledge of financing entities in the finance, transportation and warehouse financing sector from the perspective of blockchain empowerment. The results show that the platform access fee being lower than the cost of conducting a financing business and the immutable characteristics of blockchain are important reasons to promote financial institutions to choose access to blockchain. The permanent retention of performance records owing to immutable performance under the blockchain model intensifies the consequences of dishonest behavior of small- and medium-sized enterprises and third-party logistics enterprises, thus encouraging the adoption of positive financing strategies. Additionally, the additional income obtained by third-party logistics enterprises’ covering behavior surpasses the additional income obtained by the repeated pledge behavior of small- and medium-sized enterprises, which will dismantle collusion between them. This study serves as a valuable reference for decision makers in the development of supply chain finance empowered by fintech.

Research on the application and examination of electronic evidence preserved on the blockchain in Chinese copyright judicial practice

In the era of smart justice, blockchain technology has revolutionized the way of preserving and examining electronic evidence.Blockchain technology has its functional advantages of distributed storage, hash function verification, and timestamp and accordingly possesses the technical characteristics of stability, integrity, and immutability. As such, blockchain technology can help alleviate the dilemma over electronic evidence due to its flaws, such as easy distortion and modification and difficulty in the collection, especially in the cases of copyright disputes where it is difficult to determine the ownership of works and fixation of evidence. The paper explores two ways of applying blockchain evidence and their distinct proving roles in copyright infringement cases. The paper further finds the similarities and differences between the two types of blockchain electronic preservation in the judicial review mechanism. In Chinese copyright judicial practice, the ambiguity in the rules of blockchain evidence, the inconsistency of different courts in examining blockchain evidence, and the disarray of blockchain evidence preservation platforms all confused and affected judicial discretion when dealing with blockchain evidence. Learning from the United States, the paper concludes with standard-related, judicial, and self-governance suggestions to pave the way for applying and examining blockchain evidence in Chinese copyright judicial practice.