Ebook Applications of Blockchain and Big Iot Systems Digital Solutions For Diverse Industries 1St Edition Arun Solanki Editor Online PDF All Chapter

You might also like

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 70

Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT

Systems: Digital Solutions for Diverse


Industries 1st Edition Arun Solanki
(Editor)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmeta.com/product/applications-of-blockchain-and-big-iot-systems-digital-
solutions-for-diverse-industries-1st-edition-arun-solanki-editor/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

The Internet Of Drones: AI Applications for Smart


Solutions 1st Edition Arun Solanki

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-internet-of-drones-ai-
applications-for-smart-solutions-1st-edition-arun-solanki/

Blockchain Technology for IoT Applications Seok-Won Lee

https://ebookmeta.com/product/blockchain-technology-for-iot-
applications-seok-won-lee/

Blockchain for Big Data: AI, IoT and Cloud Perspectives


1st Edition Shaoliang Peng

https://ebookmeta.com/product/blockchain-for-big-data-ai-iot-and-
cloud-perspectives-1st-edition-shaoliang-peng/

Generative Adversarial Networks for Image-to-Image


Translation 1st Edition Arun Solanki

https://ebookmeta.com/product/generative-adversarial-networks-
for-image-to-image-translation-1st-edition-arun-solanki/
Practical Solutions for Diverse Real-World NLP
Applications 1st Edition Mourad Abbas

https://ebookmeta.com/product/practical-solutions-for-diverse-
real-world-nlp-applications-1st-edition-mourad-abbas/

Introducing Blockchain Applications: Understand and


Develop Blockchain Applications Through Distributed
Systems George

https://ebookmeta.com/product/introducing-blockchain-
applications-understand-and-develop-blockchain-applications-
through-distributed-systems-george/

Blockchain and IoT Integration Approaches and


Applications 1st Edition Kavita Saini (Editor)

https://ebookmeta.com/product/blockchain-and-iot-integration-
approaches-and-applications-1st-edition-kavita-saini-editor/

Machine Learning and IoT for Intelligent Systems and


Smart Applications 1st Edition

https://ebookmeta.com/product/machine-learning-and-iot-for-
intelligent-systems-and-smart-applications-1st-edition/

Blockchain for Teens: With Case Studies and Examples of


Blockchain Across Various Industries 1st Edition Brian
Wu

https://ebookmeta.com/product/blockchain-for-teens-with-case-
studies-and-examples-of-blockchain-across-various-industries-1st-
edition-brian-wu/
APPLICATIONS of
BLOCKCHAIN and BIG IoT SYSTEMS
Digital Solutions for Diverse Industries
APPLICATIONS of
BLOCKCHAIN and BIG IoT SYSTEMS
Digital Solutions for Diverse Industries

Edited by
Arun Solanki, PhD
Vishal Jain, PhD
Loveleen Gaur, PhD
First edition published 2023
Apple Academic Press Inc. CRC Press
1265 Goldenrod Circle, NE, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW,
Palm Bay, FL 32905 USA Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 USA
4164 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, 4 Park Square, Milton Park,
ON, L7L 1A4 Canada Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN UK

© 2023 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.


Apple Academic Press exclusively co-publishes with CRC Press, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the authors, editors, and publisher cannot assume
responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors, editors, and publishers have attempted
to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to
publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged, please write and let us know so
we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any
form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. For works that are not available on CCC
please contact mpkbookspermissions@tandf.co.uk
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication


Title: Applications of blockchain and big IoT systems : digital solutions for diverse industries / edited by Arun Solanki,
PhD, Vishal Jain, PhD, Loveleen Gaur, PhD.
Names: Solanki, Arun, 1985- editor. | Jain, Vishal, 1983- editor. | Gaur, Loveleen, editor.
Description: First edition. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220171262 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220171297 | ISBN 9781774637456 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781774637463 (softcover) | ISBN 9781003231332 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Blockchains (Databases)—Industrial applications. | LCSH: Internet of things—Industrial applications.
| LCSH: Big data—Industrial applications.
Classification: LCC QA76.9.B56 A67 2023 | DDC 005.74—dc23
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

CIP data on file with US Library of Congress

ISBN: 978-1-77463-745-6 (hbk)


ISBN: 978-1-77463-746-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-00323-133-2 (ebk)
About the Editors

Arun Solanki, PhD


Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, India

Arun Solanki, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer


Science and Engineering, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, India,
where he has also held various additional roles over the years. He is the
Co-Convener of the Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. He has
supervised more than 60 MTech dissertations. His research interests span expert
systems, machine learning (ML), and search engines. He has published many
research articles in SCI/Scopus-indexed international journals and has partici­
pated in many international conferences. He has been a technical and advisory
committee member of many conferences and has chaired and organized many
sessions at an international conferences, workshops, and seminars. Dr. Solanki
is working as an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Web-Based
Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT). He has also been working as
a guest editor for special issues in Recent Patents on Computer Science. Dr.
Solanki is the editor of many books and is working as the reviewer for journals
published by Springer, IGI Global, Elsevier, and others. He received an MTech
degree in computer engineering from YMCA University, Faridabad, Haryana,
India. He has received his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from
Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, India.

Vishal Jain, PhD


Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida,
U.P. India

Vishal Jain, PhD, is presently working as an Associate Professor at the Depart­


ment of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and
Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P. India. Before that, he has
worked for several years as an Associate Professor at Bharati Vidyapeeth’s
Institute of Computer Applications and Management (BVICAM), New Delhi.
He has more than 14 years of experience in academics. He obtained a PhD
vi About the Editors

(CSE), MTech (CSE), MBA (HR), MCA, MCP, and CCNA. He has more than
370 research citation indices with Google Scholar (h-index score 9 and i-10
index 9). He has authored more than 70 research papers in reputed confer­
ences and journals, including Web of Science and Scopus. He has authored and
edited more than 10 books with various reputed publishers, including Springer,
Apple Academic Press, CRC, Taylor and Francis Group, Scrivener, Wiley,
Emerald, and IGI-Global. His research areas include information retrieval,
semantic web, ontology engineering, data mining, ad hoc networks, and sensor
networks. He received a Young Active Member Award for the year 2012–2013
from the Computer Society of India, Best Faculty Award for the year 2017, and
Best Researcher Award for the year 2019 from BVICAM, New Delhi.

Loveleen Gaur, PhD


Professor and Program Director (Artificial Intelligence and Business
Intelligence and Data Analytics), Amity International Business School,
Amity University, Noida, India

Loveleen Gaur, PhD, is a Professor cum Program Director (Artificial Intel­


ligence and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics) at Amity International
Business School, Amity University, Noida, India. She is also a senior IEEE
member and series editor. An established author and researcher, she has filed
three patents in the area of IoT. For over 18 years she served in India and
abroad in different capacities. Prof. Gaur has significantly contributed to
enhancing scientific understanding by participating in over 300 scientific
conferences, symposia, and seminars; by chairing technical sessions; and
by delivering plenary and invited talks. She has specialized in the fields of
information sciences IoT, data analytics, e-commerce and e-business, data
mining, and business intelligence. Prof. Gaur has authored and co-authored
around 10 books with Elsevier, Springer, and Taylor and Francis. She is
invited as a guest editor for Springer NASA journals and Emerald Q1 jour­
nals. She has chaired various committees for international conferences and
is a reviewer with IEEE, SCI, and ABDC journals. She is actively involved
in various projects of the Government of India and abroad. She has been
honored with prestigious national and international awards, such as the
Senior Women Educator & Scholar Award by the National Foundation for
Entrepreneurship Development on Women’s Day, the Sri Ram Award from
the Delhi Management Association (DMA), and a Distinguished Research
Award by Allied Academies, which was presented in Jacksonville, Florida,
and an Outstanding Research Contributor award by Amity University.
Contents

Contributors............................................................................................................ xi
Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... xv
Preface .................................................................................................................. xix

PART I: BLOCKCHAIN MECHANISMS FOR IoT SECURITY ................... 1


1. Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and
Security Issues with IoT ................................................................................ 3
Sunil Kumar Singh and Sumit Kumar

2. Blockchain-Based Federated Machine Learning for


Solving IoT Security Problems ................................................................... 27
Divya, Vikram Singh, and Naveen Dahiya

3. Blockchain-Based Security Solutions for Big Data and


IoT Applications ........................................................................................... 57
Rajdeep Chakraborty, Abhik Banerjee, and Sounak Ghosh

4. Intelligence on Situation Awareness and Cyberthreats


Based on Blockchain and Neural Network.............................................. 101
S. Porkodi and D. Kesavaraja

5. WVOSN Algorithm for Blockchain Networks ........................................ 133


Nada M. Alhakkak

6. Blockchain-Based Authentication and Trust Computation


Security Solution for Internet of Vehicles (IoV)...................................... 157
Sunilkumar S. Manvi and Shrikant Tangade

PART II: SMART CITY ECOSYSTEM USING BLOCKCHAIN


TECHNOLOGY................................................................................................. 179
7. Blockchain for Smart Cities: The Future of City Management ............ 181
Arun Solanki and Tarana Singh

8. Application of Blockchain Technology to Make Smart


Cities Smarter............................................................................................. 211
Yogita Borse, Purnima Ahirao, Kunal Bohra, Nidhi Dedhia, Yash Jain,
Rohit Kasale, and Unmesh Madke
viii Contents

PART III: BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES: OPPORTUNITIES


FOR SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS IN HEALTHCARE
AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE....................................................................... 243
9. Blockchain Technology for Biomedical Engineering Applications........ 245
Dinesh Bhatia, Animesh Mishra, and Anoop Kumar Prasad

10. Decentralized and Secured Applications of Blockchain in the


Biomedical Domain.................................................................................... 267
Meet Kumari, Meenu Gupta, and Chetanya Ved

11. Blockchain-Enabled Secure Platforms for Management of


Healthcare Data.......................................................................................... 283
Nimrita Koul and Sunilkumar S. Manvi

PART IV: FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN IN


BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT.................................................................. 305
12. Key Drivers of Blockchain Technology for Business
Transformation........................................................................................... 307
Shivani A. Trivedi and Okuogume Anthony

13. Development of Blockchain-Based Cryptocurrency............................... 341


Deepak Kumar Sharma, Anuj Gupta, and Tejas Gupta

14. Blockchain as a Facilitator Technology in the Digital Era:


Analysis of Enablers .................................................................................. 373
Ravinder Kumar

15. Identifying Applications of Blockchain Technology in the


Construction Industry and Project Management ................................... 389
Priyanka Singh

16. Mitigating the Supply Chain Wastages Using Blockchain


Technology .................................................................................................. 409
Dhritiman Chanda, Shantashree Das, Nilanjan Mazumdar, and D. Ghose

17. Traceable and Reliable Food Supply Chain Through Blockchain-


Based Technology in Association with Marginalized Farmers .............. 431
Sanjukta Ghosh and Sujata Pudale

PART V: APPLICATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN IN EDUCATION


AND AGRICULTURE ...................................................................................... 459
18. Agro-Chain: Blockchain Powered Micro-Financial Assistance
for Farmers................................................................................................. 461
G. M. Roopa, N. Pradeep, and G. H. Arun Kumar
Contents ix

19. Transformation of Higher Education System Using


Blockchain Technology .............................................................................. 499
Pradeep Tomar, Harshit Bhardwaj, Uttam Sharma, Aditi Sakalle,
and Arpit Bhardwaj

Index .................................................................................................................... 525


Contributors

Purnima Ahirao
Faculty of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India

Nada M. Alhakkak
Computer Science Department, Baghdad College for Economic Science University, Baghdad, Iraq,
E-mails: nadahakkak@hotmail.com; dr.nada@baghdadcollege.edu.iq

Okuogume Anthony
Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Tornio, Finland, E-mail: Anthony.Okuogume@lapinamk.fi

Abhik Banerjee
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Netaji Subhash Engineering College, Kolkata,
West Bengal, India, E-mail: abhik.banerjee.1999@gmail.com
Arpit Bhardwaj
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, BML Munjal
University, Haryana, India, Email Id: arpit.bhardwaj@bmu.edu.in

Harshit Bhardwaj
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University School of Information and
Communication Technology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India,
E-mail: hb151191@gmail.com

Dinesh Bhatia
Department of Biomedical Engineering, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong – 793022, Meghalaya,
India, E-mail: bhatiadinesh@rediffmail.com

Kunal Bohra
UG Student of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India

Yogita Borse
Faculty of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India, E-mail: yogitaborse@somaiya.edu

Rajdeep Chakraborty
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Netaji Subhash Engineering College, Kolkata,
West Bengal, India, E-mail: rajdeep_chak@rediffmail.com

Dhritiman Chanda
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Commerce and Management, Vishwakarma University, Pune, India,
Email: operationsdchanda@gmail.com

Naveen Dahiya
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, MSIT, New Delhi, India

Shantashree Das
Software Research Analyst, SelectHub, Denver, United States, Email: dshantashree26@gmail.com
xii Contributors

Nidhi Dedhia
UG Student of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India

Divya
Department of Computer Science and Applications, CDLU, Sirsa, Haryana, India; Department of
Computer Science and Engineering, MSIT, New Delhi, India, E-mail: divyajatain@msit.in
D. Ghose
Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, Assam University, Silchar, India,
E-mail: operationsdghosh@gmail.com

Sanjukta Ghosh
Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology, Bangalore, India

Sounak Ghosh
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Netaji Subhash Engineering College, Kolkata,
West Bengal, India, E-mail: sounakghosh.official@gmail.com

Anuj Gupta
Department of Information Technology, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (Formerly known as
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology), New Delhi, India, E-mail: ganuj32@gmail.com

Meenu Gupta
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chandigarh University, Punjab, India,
E-mail: gupta.meenu5@gmail.com

Tejas Gupta
Department of Information Technology, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (Formerly known as
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology), New Delhi, India
Yash Jain
UG Student of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India
Rohit Kasale
UG Student of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India

D. Kesavaraja
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Dr. Sivanthi Aditanar College
of Engineering, Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, India, Tel.: 9865213214, E-mail: dkesavraj@gmail.com

Nimrita Koul
School of Computing and Information Technology, REVA University, Bangalore, Karnataka – 560064,
India, E-mails: nimritakoul@reva.edu.in; emailnk1@gmail.com

G. H. Arun Kumar
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Davangere, Karnataka, India (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Karnataka,
India)
Ravinder Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India,
E-mail: rkumar19@amity.edu

Sumit Kumar
Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India, E-mail: sumit170787@gmail.com
Contributors xiii

Meet Kumari
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Chandigarh University, Punjab, India,
E-mail: meetkumari08@yahoo.in

Unmesh Madke
UG Student of Department of Information Technology, K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India
Sunilkumar S. Manvi
School of Computing and Information Technology, REVA University, Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560064,
India, E-mail: ssmanvi@reva.edu.in

Nilanjan Mazumdar
Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, University of Science and Technology
Management, Guwahati, India, Email: nilanjanmazumdar@ustm.ac.in

Animesh Mishra
Department of Cardiology, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical
Sciences, Shillong, Meghalaya, India, E-mail: animesh.shillong@gmail.com
S. Porkodi
Scholar, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Dr. Sivanthi Aditanar College of
Engineering, Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, India, Tel.: 7339464560,
E-mail: Ishwaryaporkodi6296@gmail.com

N. Pradeep
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Davangere, Karnataka, India (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Karnataka,
India)

Anoop Kumar Prasad


Royal School of Engineering and Technology, Assam Science and Technology University, Guwahati,
Assam, India, E-mail: anoopkprasad@rgi.edu.in

Sujata Pudale
Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology, Bangalore, India

G. M. Roopa
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Davangere, Karnataka, India (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, Karnataka,
India), E-mail: roopa.rgm@gmail.com

Aditi Sakalle
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University School of Information and
Communication Technology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India,
E-mail: aditi.sakalle@gmail.com

Deepak Kumar Sharma


Department of Information Technology, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (Formerly known as
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology), New Delhi, India, E-mail: dk.sharma1982@yahoo.com
Uttam Sharma
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University School of Information and
Communication Technology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India,
E-mail: uttamsharma.usc@gmail.com

Priyanka Singh
Department of Civil Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University
Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, E-mail: priyanka24978@gmail.com
xiv Contributors

Sunil Kumar Singh


Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India,
E-mails: sksingh@mgcub.ac.in; sunilsingh.jnu@gmail.com

Tarana Singh
Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Vikram Singh
Department of Computer Science and Applications, CDLU, Sirsa, Haryana, India

Arun Solanki
Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Shrikant Tangade
School of Electronics and Communication Engineering, REVA University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Pradeep Tomar
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University School of Information and
Communication Technology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India,
E-mail: parry.tomar@gmail.com
Shivani A. Trivedi
S.K. Patel Institute of Management and Computer Science-MCA, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya, Gujrat,
India, E-mail: satrivedi@gmail.com
Chetanya Ved
Department of Information Technology, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering, Maharashtra,
India, E-mail: chetanyaved@gmail.com
Abbreviations

ADG direct acyclic graph


AE autoencoder
AI artificial intelligence
AoI age of information
APO area post office
ARL army research laboratory
ATA Agent of Trusted Authority
BAT basic attention token
BC blockchain
BFT Byzantine fault tolerance
BIM building information modeling
BIoT blockchain-based IoT
BTC bitcoin
CAESAIR collaborative analysis engine for situational awareness
and incident response
CCC contract-compliance-checker
CCMSNNB cyberthreat classification and management system using
neural network and blockchain
CE circular economy
CRM customer relationship management
CS cloud server
CTI cyber threat intelligence
CV computer vision
CVE common vulnerability and exposure
DApp decentralized application
DBT direct bank transfer
DDOS distributed denial of service
DEC design, engineering, and construction
DEMB decentralize electronic-medical blockchain-based system
DL deep learning
DLT distributed ledger technology
DNS domain name system
DoS denial of services
DPoS delegated proof-of-stack
xvi Abbreviations

DSRC dedicated short-range communication


DTC distributed time-based consensus algorithm
DTLS datagram transport-level security
EAB education consultative board
ECDSA digital signature elliptical curve algorithm
EHRs electronic healthcare records
ELIB efficient, lightweight, integrated blockchain
ERP enterprise resource planning
ETH Ethereum
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
FedBlock federated blockchain
GDP gross domestic product
GDPR general data protection regulation
GUID global unique identifier
HER electronic health record
ICO initial coin offering
ICS indicator centric schema
ICTs information and communication technologies
ID-MAP identity-based message authentication using proxy vehicles
IERC European research cluster on the Internet of Things
IIoT industrial internet of things
IoBT internet of battlefield things
IoC indicators of corruption
IoMT internet of medical things
IoTs Internet of things
IoV internet of vehicles
IPO initial public offering
ITS intelligent transportation system
KB knowledge base
LPoS leased proof-of-stack
LTE long-term evolution
M2M machine-to-machine
MCDM multi-criteria decision making
MHR medication health record
MIN miner identifier number
MISP malware information sharing platform
ML machine learning
NB-IoT narrowband internet of things
NPV negative predictive value
Abbreviations xvii

OBU on-board-unit
OSINT open-source intelligence
OSU open-source university
P2M participant to machine
P2P participant to participant
P2P peer-to-peer
PBFT practical Byzantine fault tolerance
PHR personal health records
PII personally identifiable information
PKI public-key infrastructure
PoA proof of authority
PoB proof-of-burn
PoC proof-of-capacity
PoET proof-of-elapsed time
PoI proof-of-importance
PoL proof-of-luck
PoS proof of stack
PoSp proof-of-space
PoV proof-of-vote
PoW proof of work
PoX proof-of-eXercise
PPV positive predictive value
PRISMA-SGR preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and
meta-analysis
RBAC role-based access management
RFQ request for quotation
RIRN Rencana Induk Riset Nasional
RPL routing protocol for low-power
RSP rock-scissor-paper
RSUs roadside units
RTO regional transport office
SCM supply chain management
SCs smart contracts
SMR state machine replication
SMS short message service
SOC security operation center
SPF single point of failure
SPV simplified-payment-verification
SSCM sustainable supply chain management
xviii Abbreviations

SSOT single source of truth


SVM support vector machine
TA trusted authority
TCA tournament consensus algorithm
TEE trusted execution environment
UAI unique address identifier
UIDs unique identifiers
V2I vehicle to infrastructure
V2P vehicle to people
VANET vehicular ad hoc network
WAVE wireless access in vehicular environment
WHO World Health Organization
WSN wireless sensor network
XT eXercise transaction
Preface

Blockchain (BC) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two trendy and powerful
technological names that have already proven their importance in various
fields. The blockchain was born for the security of a magical cryptocurrency,
“Bitcoin (BTC),” while the Internet of Things justifies its name. The Internet
of Things is a fast-growing and easy-to-use technology that has also caught
on in a concise period of time; and it covers almost all areas of life. The
Internet of Things is now involved from everyday to high-level technical
scenarios, so security is becoming a crucial issue.
The authors of this book come from research and academia, and their
work demonstrates the power of knowledge. The chapters in this book are
well written, easy to understand, and technically rich. They present knowl­
edge about these two technologies, explaining them in different aspects.
It gives us immense pleasure to introduce to you the first edition of the
book entitled Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems: Digital Solu-
tions for Diverse Industries. The primary intent of this book is to explore
the various applications of blockchain and big IoT systems. It presents the
rapid advancement in the existing business model by applying blockchain,
big data, and IoT techniques. Several applications of blockchain, IoT, and
big data in different industries are incorporated in the book. The wide variety
of topics it presents offers readers multiple perspectives on various disci­
plines. This book will help the data scientists, blockchain engineers, big data
engineers, and analytics managers.
Each chapter presents blockchain/big data and IoT use in application
areas like agriculture, education, IoT, medical, smart city, and supply chain.
The idea behind this book is to simplify the journey of aspiring engineers
across the world. This book will provide a high-level understanding of
various Blockchain algorithms, along with big data and IoT techniques in
different application areas.
This book contains 19 chapters. Chapter 1 elaborates on these two catego­
ries as well. Further, it covers the consensus mechanism, and it is working
along with an overview of the Ethereum (ETH) platform. Chapter 2 provides
an in-depth analysis of IoT security issues and how federated learning along
with BC technology can be used to solve them. Chapter 3 discusses the
following consensus algorithms-PoW [2], proof of stake, delegated proof
xx Preface

of stake, Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT), crash fault tolerance, hashgraph


consensus algorithm, proof of elapsed time, and proof of authority (PoA).
Chapter 4 discusses blockchain technology in support of auto encoder
deep neural networks, which is evaluated for managing and classifying
the incidents and for validating its performance and accuracy. Chapter 5
proposes a hybrid algorithm that manages the decentralized network starting
from joining the network as a new node until adding a new authorized block
to the blockchain of network nodes. Chapter 6 proposes a blockchain-based
security solution for IoV to authenticate vehicles, calculate reward points,
and compute new trust value. Chapter 7 discusses the general architecture
of smart cities using blockchain technology, applications, opportunities, and
the future scope of blockchain technology in implementing smart cities.
Chapter 8 talks about the recent implementation of a few major sectors in a
city: healthcare, governance, energy, and social benefits. Chapter 9 discusses
elaborate blockchain technology for biomedical engineering applications.
Chapter 10 discusses the decentralized and secured applications of block-
chain in the biomedical domain. Chapter 11 discusses various use case studies
of blockchain in the management of healthcare data. Chapter 12 discusses
the future applications of blockchain in business and management. Chapter
13 discusses the development of blockchain-based cryptocurrency. Chapter
14 analyzes the enablers of blockchain technology by using DEMATEL
techniques. Chapter 15 presents an overview of and motive for enabling
blockchain technology in the construction industry and project management,
for the smooth functioning without much duplicity in the system. Chapter
16 discusses the mitigation of various wastages generated across the supply
chain. Chapter 17 shows system-level thinking pertaining to the current food
supply chain; it than elaborates on multiple steps associated with service
design, followed by integrated supply chain information and secured block-
chain frameworks. Chapter 18 adopts distributed ledger technology (DLT)
that allows the recorded data in the system to fan-out amongst the farmers,
consumers, and all the actors involved in the system. Chapter 19 discusses
the transformation of higher education system using blockchain technology.
We hope that readers make the most of this volume and enjoy reading this
book. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome.
—Arun Solanki, PhD
Vishal Jain, PhD
Loveleen Gaur, PhD
PART I
Blockchain Mechanisms for IoT Security
CHAPTER 1

Blockchain Technology: Introduction,


Integration, and Security Issues with IoT
SUNIL KUMAR SINGH1 and SUMIT KUMAR2
1
Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India,
E-mails: sksingh@mgcub.ac.in; sunilsingh.jnu@gmail.com
2
Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India,
E-mail: sumit170787@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Blockchain (BC) was mainly introduced for secure transactions in connec­


tion with the mining of cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC). This chapter discusses
the fundamental concepts of BC technology and its components, such as
block header, transaction, smart contracts (SCs), etc. BC uses the distrib­
uted databases, so this chapter also explains the advantages of distributed
BC over a centrally located database. Depending on the application, BC is
broadly categorized into two categories; permissionless and permissioned.
This chapter elaborates on these two categories as well. Further, it covers
the consensus mechanism, and it is working along with an overview of the
Ethereum (ETH) platform. BC technology has been proved to be one of the
remarkable techniques to provide security to IoT devices. An illustration of
how BC will be useful for IoT devices has been given. A few applications are
also illustrated to explain the working of BC with IoT.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

With the emergence of new communication and information technology,


security always has been a major concern. In recent, many well-known
organizations have faced security breaches. For example, a well popular
search engine Yahoo experienced a major attack in the year 2016, resulting
4 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

in the conciliation of billions of accounts [1]. After doing the security-related


research on many companies, it observed that 65% of the data infringement
has happened because of a weak or reeved password. Further, it is found that
many times sensitive information stealing was done by phishing e-mails.
Blockchain (BC) technology was conceived mainly to address the secu­
rity issue of cryptocurrency bitcoin (BTC). It has several benefits and is well
suited to handle the security issue. In the BC system, there is no central
database, and it is a kind of system that does not trust the people. This system
assumes that anyone can attack on the system, whether part of the system
or outsider, can attack the system; therefore, it is a system that is devoid
of human consuetude. Moreover, it is enabled with cryptographic features,
which can be like hashing and digital signature. BC is immutable [1] also,
therefore, anyone can store the data. Finally, as many users are involved in
the BC system, changing or adding new blocks in the system needs to be
validated by the majority of the users.
BTC is one of the first digital currency [2], created in 2009, underlying
BC technology. As BTC is known as the first cryptocurrency, it was marked
as a spire performing currency in the year 2015 and considered a spanking
commodity in 2016. Nowadays, besides BTC, BC is applied in many other
areas like medicine, economics, the Internet of Things (IoT), software engi­
neering, and many more.
BC technology is getting popular for offering better and foolproof
security by removing intermediaries. It also results in reducing the cost of
transactions. It is a shared data structure that is amenable for collecting all
the transactional history. In BC technology, blocks are connected in the form
of chains. The beginning block of the BC is recognized as the Genesis block
[3]. All other blocks are simple blocks. The chain in the BC is the link or the
pointers connecting the blocks. Blocks, in turn, keeps the transactions that
take place in the system.
Many organizations have defined BC technology in different ways. The
Coinbase, the bulkiest cryptocurrency exchange across the globe, has estab­
lished the BC as “a distributed, public ledger that contains the history of
every BTC transaction” [3]. Oxford dictionary bestows a familiar definition
stated as “a digital ledger in which transactions made in BTC or another
cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly” [4]. Another
description is given by Sultan et al., which narrates a very general definition
of BC technology as “a decentralized database containing sequential, cryp­
tographically linked blocks of digitally signed asset transactions, governed
by a consensus model” [4].
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 5

Fundamentals of BC technology are supposed to lie in between the 1980s


and 1990s of the 20th century [1] though it gained popularity very recently. It
is widely recognized in 2008 after the inquisition of cryptocurrency BTC. BC
became widely prevalent after the legendary work of Nakamoto [5], though
it is a fictitious name and still has not been explored who the actual person
is. Nakamoto proposed a technique to replace the centralized architecture
with a pear-to-pear network-based architecture. Initially, BC technology was
named as two words, “block” and “chain;” however, at the end of the year
2016, these two words have been combined to make its BC.
BC uses the concept of a ledger which may be seen as a database to
maintain the records or a list of transactions. This is similar to the ledger
of a hotel. For example, when you check-in in a hotel, the receptionist asks
your identity and enters the record in a hardbound register (called ledger).
This entry is maintained date and time-wise. One cannot add or remove the
entries in between and can only append in the ledger. Thus, the entries cannot
be made in between the two entries as well as cannot be deleted in between.
One can consider the entry as a transaction and pages of the ledger as a block.
So, it becomes a chain of blocks in the ledger. In case of any eventuality, this
hotel ledger is to be consulted for security purposes. Though, this type of
ledger is a centralized database of the hotel.
Intermediation is one of the prominent solutions for screening the owner­
ship of assets or transaction processing. Intermediaries’ role is to check and
validate the participating parties along with the chain of intermediaries. This
validation process, apart from time taking, incurs a significant amount of
cost. In case the validation fails, it has credit risk too. The BC technology
promises a way to overcome, representing “a shift from trusting people to
trusting math” [6], i.e., free from human intervention or minimum human
involvement.
IoTs is an upcoming technology that indicates the billions of tangible
devices across the globe agglutinated to the Internet which collects and
shares the information. IoT is the term coined by Kevin Ashton of MIT in
1999 during his work at Procter and Gamble (company) [7]. It promises
the world to make it perceptive and proactive by enabling the things to talk
with each other [8, 9]. In the IoTs, the collected data from the sensors [42]
are maintained in central servers, which may lead to many intricacies when
the devices try to communicate with each other through the internet [10].
Centralized locations may also suffer from security issues resulting in their
misuses. BC technology can provide a solution in the form of a decentral­
ized model. A distributed model can execute billions of operations between
6 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

different IoT devices. An IoT with BC has been depicted in Figure 1.1,
wherein distributed BC replaces the concept of the central server and big
data processing at a centralized location. This minimizes the building and
maintenance costs associated with the centralized location server. It also
reduces the single point failure in the absence of a third party. This chapter
deliberates on the BC and its relevance concerning IoT.

FIGURE 1.1 Data flow in the IoT-blockchain.

1.2 COMPONENTS OF BLOCKCHAIN (BC) TECHNOLOGY

BC is a network of blocks (nodes) that are connected with one another


following some topology rather than being connected with a central server.
It has the potential to store the transactions in the ledger effectively and
confirming transparency, security, and auditability. Few crucial components
of BC technology are as follows.

1.2.1 BLOCK

Block in the BC technology is the decentralized nodes/miners equipped


with the databases, and it contains the digital piece of information. Blocks
are linked together containing the hash value of the previous block into the
current block. In general, block structure can be visualized into two parts:
block header and a list of transactions.
Block header equipped with the following information:

• Version number indicates the version number of the block and uses 4
bytes for its representation.
• Previous block hash is a pointer between the previous and current
block and uses 32 bytes.
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 7

• Timestamp uses 4 bytes and stores the time of the creation of the
block.
• Merkle tree is represented by 32 bytes and is a hash of every transac­
tion that takes place in a block.
• Difficulty target is indicated by 4 bytes and basically it is used to
measure the intricacy target of the block.
• Nonce also uses 4 bytes and computes the different hashes.

Figure 1.2 shows a generic diagram of a block with its important compo­
nents. It also shows the working Merkle root which is generated from the
hash values of the transaction. In Figure 1.2, A, B, C, and D are the transac­
tions and H(A), H(B), H(C), and H(D) are their respective hash values.

FIGURE 1.2 Diagram of a block.

1.2.2 GENESIS BLOCK

In a BC, genesis block is considered as a foundered block because it is the


first block in the chain. The block height of the first block is always zero,
and no block precedes the genesis block. Every block which is the part of
the BC comprises of a block header along with transaction counter, and
transactions.

1.2.3 NONCE

A nonce, an abridgment for “number only used once” is a one-time code in


cryptography. It is a number appended to the hashed (encrypted) block in a
8 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

BC. When it is rehashed, it ensures the difficulty level of antagonism. The


Nonce is the number for which BC miners solve a complex problem. It is
also associated with the timestamp to limit its lifetime; that is why if one
performs duplicate transactions, even then a different Nonce is required.

1.2.4 USER AND MINER

A computationally advanced node that tries to solve a complex problem


(which requires high computation power) to retrace a new block which is
recognized as a miner. The miners are capable of working alone or in a
collective routine in order to find the solution to the given mathematical
problem. The process of locating a novel block is opened by sharing new
transaction information among every user in the BC network. It is the
responsibility of each user to collect the new transactions into blocks and put
their efforts to find the proof-of-work of the block. Proof-of-work is defined
as a user is required to solve a computational complex puzzle for publishing
a new block, and the solution of the puzzle will be its proof. This whole
phenomenon is known as proof of work (PoW).

1.2.5 CHAIN AND HEIGHT

In BC technology, the chain is a virtual string that connects the miners in the
accrescent set of blocks with hashes [11]. The chain keeps growing as and
when a new block is appended. Blocks in the chain are generally indicated
by their block height in the chain which is nothing but a sequence number
starting from zero. The height of a block is defined as the number of blocks
in the chain between the genesis block and the given block (for which height
is to be calculated).

1.2.6 TRANSACTION

A BC transaction is represented in the form of a smaller unit of the tasks;


and is warehoused in public records. After verification by more than 50%
of the users of the BC network, records get implemented and executed. Its
outcomes are stored in the BC. Previously stored records can be reviewed
at any time, but the updation of the records are not permitted. The size of
the transaction is a crucial parameter for the miners because the bigger size
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 9

transaction requires larger storage space in the block. It also requires signifi­
cantly more power, whereas the smaller size transaction requires less power.
The structure of the BC [3] is shown in Table 1.1.

TABLE 1.1 Blockchain’s Structure


Field Size
Magic number 4 bytes
Block size 4 bytes
Header: Next 80 bytes
Version 4 bytes
Previous block hash 32 bytes
Merkle root 32 bytes
Timestamp 4 bytes
Difficulty target 4 bytes
Nonce 4 bytes
Rest of Blockchain
Transaction counter Variable: 1 to 9
Transaction list Transaction size-dependent: up to 1 MB

1.3 TYPES OF BLOCKCHAIN (BC)

Centered on the uses of BC technology for various applications in a different


scenario, it is broadly categorized into two categories: permissioned and
permissionless [1].

1.3.1 PERMISSIONED

In this, one is required to take some sort of permission from that particular
organization or owner of the BC to access any or parts of the BC. For
example, to read a BC would not allow us to perform any other operations
in the block. One needs to take permission to access or transact the block.
Permissioned BC is categorized into two categories, as follows.

1.3.1.1 PRIVATE BLOCKCHAIN (BC)

The private BC is fully permissioned, and if a node is willing to join, it has


to be a member of that single organization. This new node needs to send an
10 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

original transaction and required to take part in the consensus mechanism.


The private BC is useful and is generally favored for individual enterprise
solutions to record the track of data transfer between different departments
[12]. Examples of private BC are Ripple and Hyperledger.

1.3.1.2 FEDERATED BLOCKCHAIN (FEDBLOCK)

Federated blockchain (FedBlock), also known as a consortium BC, shares


a lot of similarity to a private BC. It is a ‘semi-private’ system that has a
controlled user group. A FedBlock is taken as an auditable and credibly
synchronized dispersed database that preserves the track of data exchange
information between consortium members taking part in the system. Like
a private BC, it does not annex the processing fee and incurs a low compu­
tational cost to publish new blocks. FedBlock ensures the auditability and
contributes comparatively lower latency in transaction processing. Examples
of FedBlock s are EWF, R3, Quorum, and Hyperledger, etc.
If we compare with the public BC (mentioned in Section 1.3.2.1),
private is more comfortable because of less number of users. It requires less
processing power and time for verifying a new block. It also provides better
security because the nodes, which are within the organization, can read the
transactions.

1.3.2 PERMISSIONLESS

A permissionless BC is simple, with no restriction for entry to use it. As


the name indicates, anyone and anything can be a part of it without taking
permission.

1.3.2.1 PUBLIC BLOCKCHAIN (BC)

A public BC is a permissionless BC in which the validation of transactions


depends on consensus. Mostly it is distributed, in which all the members take
part in publishing the new blocks and retrieving BC contents. Ina public BC,
every block is allowed to keep a copy of the BC, which is used in endorsing
the new blocks [12]. A few popular applications of public BC execution are
cryptocurrency networks which are like BTC, ethereum (ETH), and many
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 11

others. It has an open-source code maintained by a community and is open


for everyone to take part in [1, 13].
A public BC is difficult to hack because for adding a new block, it
involves either high computation-based puzzle-solving or staking one’s
cryptocurrency. In this, every transaction is attached to some processing fee.
A comparison of various available technologies [11] is shown in Table 1.2.

TABLE 1.2 Comparison of Blockchain Technologies


Public Blockchain Private Blockchain Consortium/
Federated
Blockchain
Participation in Every node Solo organization Some specified
Consensus nodes in multiple
organizations
Access Read/write access High access restriction Comparatively lower
allowed to all access restriction
Identity Pseudo-anonymous Accepted participants Accepted
participants
Immutability Fully immutable Partially immutable Partially immutable
Transaction Low High High
Processing Speed
Permission Required No Yes Yes

1.4 SMART CONTRACT

The smart contract is the term, introduced by Szabo in 1997 [11, 14], which
combines computer protocols with users to run the terms of the contract. A
smart contract is a self-enforcing agreement (an agreement enforced by the
party itself) embedded in computer code managed by the BC. It is governed
by the computer protocols under which the performance of a reliable transac­
tion occurs without the participation of any third parties. The transactions
performed under the smart contract can be tracked and is irreversible. A
smart contract basically consists of the following components: lines of code,
storage file, and account balance. It can be created by a node to initiate a
transaction to the BC. The lines of code, i.e., program code is immutable and
cannot be moderated once it is created.
Figure 1.3 shows the contract’s storage file associated with the miner and
stored in the public BC. The network of miners is responsible for executing
the program logic and acquiring the consensus on the execution’s output.
12 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

Only that particular node (miner) is enabled to hold, access, and modify the
data in the BC. The contract’s code follows a reactive approach, i.e., it is
executed whenever it receives a message from the user or any other nodes in
the chain. While during the execution of the code, the contract may access
the storage file for performing the read/write operations.

FIGURE 1.3 Structure of the distributed cryptocurrency system with smart contracts [14].

1.5 CONSENSUS MECHANISM


Consensus mechanisms [1] are the protocols that ensure the synchronization
of all the nodes with each other in the BC. It validates the transaction if it
is legitimate before adding it to the BC. This mechanism plays an essential
character in the smooth and correct functioning of BC technology. It also
ensures that all the nodes use the same BC and all the nodes must continu­
ously check all performed transactions.
Many consensus mechanisms are available today. However, a few
known prevalent BC consensus mechanisms are PoW, proof of stake (PoS),
Delegated PoS, Ripple, and Tendermint [15]. The key difference among
numerous consensus mechanisms can be identified, the way they depute and
payoff the authentication of multiple transactions.
Even after the availability of the number of consensus mechanisms,
many existing BC systems, including BTC and ETH uses PoW. PoW is the
first and popular consensus mechanism. Its use is widely accepted in many
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 13

of BC-based systems. It is mandatory for the users, participation in the BC


network, to prove that the work is done for them to qualify and obtain the
aptitude to add a new block to the ledger [1]. In the BC network, nodes are
expected to receive the consensus and agree that the block hash provided by
the miner is a valid PoW.
Figure 1.4 illustrates the working of the PoW mechanism in the BC. In
this mechanism, every miner is first required to define and create a PoW
puzzle in the BC. The created puzzle will be visible and accessible to every
other node taking part in the system. However, the node, which can solve the
PoW puzzle, is able to hold, access, and modify the data in the BC.

FIGURE 1.4 Working of consensus mechanism in blockchain.

1.6 ETHEREUM (ETH)

ETH is a distributed computing platform, used for public BC systems with


an operating system featuring smart contract functionalities. It is an open-
source platform proposed by VitalikButerin, a programmer and cryptocur­
rency researcher in late 2013 [16].
ETH is also a validated platform used to deliver and execute smart
contracts (SCs) reliably. It supports a modified form of the Nakamoto-
consensus mechanism, which works on “Memory Hardness” despite fast
computing power machines. ETH is a permissionless network, i.e., any node
14 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

can join the network by creating an account on the ETH platform. Moreover,
it uses its consensus model, which is identified as EthHash PoW. It is compe­
tent to run the scripts using a global network of public nodes. Miner nodes
are ETH Virtual Machines provided by ETH BC. These nodes are adequate
for providing cryptographic tamper-proof tenacious execution, and its imple­
mentation is called contracts. ETH reinforces its digital currency known
as Ether [17]. ETH is one of the well-recognized platforms for executing
SCs, though, it can execute other decentralized applications (DApps) and
compatible to interact with many other BC s. It is also categorized as Turing-
complete [18], a mathematical concept giving a hint that ETH programming
language can be used as a platform to simulate other languages.
ETH platform may be used to regulate and configure various IoT devices
[43–45]. Security keys are managed using the RSA algorithm, where private
keys are stored on the devices, and BC controls public keys.

1.7 BLOCKCHAIN (BC) TECHNOLOGY IN IoT

BC technology can play a vital role for various privacy and security issues of
the IoT. In IoT, sensing devices usually send the data at a centralized location
for processing purposes. BC technology replaces the central server concept
of IoT by introducing the concept of distributed ledger for every transaction
with legitimate authentication [10]. It ensures that storing the transaction
details with the intermediaries is no longer necessary because transaction
records will be available on many computers of the chain. This system
rejects the updation and breaching of one computer. However, to make it
successful, multi-signature protection is required to authorize a transaction.
If a hacker tries to steal the information by penetrating the network, multiple
duplicate copies are available on many computers worldwide. For hacking
the BC network successfully, the consensus of more than 50% of systems in
the network is required [19].

1.7.1 BLOCKCHAIN (BC) INTEGRATION

Integration of BC with IoT opens a new door and wider domain of research
and development in the area of IoT applications [16, 20, 21]. Over the last
few years, unprecedented growth in the field of IoT has been observed,
which enables wide opportunities like access and share of the information.
Many times, accessing, and sharing information can induce challenges like
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 15

security, privacy, and trust among the communicating parties. BC can solve
various issues of IoT like privacy, security, and reliability. The distributed
nature of BC technology can eliminate single point failure and makes it
reliable.
We are all aware that BC has already proven its importance in financial
transactions with the help of cryptocurrencies, such as BTC and ETH. It
removed the third-party requirement between P2P payment services [18]. A
few IoT enablers have chosen the BC technology and formed a consortium
for standardization and reliable integration of BIoT (Blockchain-IoT). It is a
group of 17 companies aimed to enable security, scalability, heterogeneity,
privacy, and trust in distributed structure with the help of BC technology
[16].
IoT devices can communicate with one another either directly, device to
device, or through BC technology. There are three types of communication
models in an integrated BC and IoT environment, which are as follows.

1.7.1.1 IoT-IoT COMMUNICATION

In IoT-IoT communication, IoT devices communicate directly without the


involvement of the BC. This type of communication is also known as inter-
IoT devices communication. It is the fastest communication model that does
not associate high computation and time-consuming BC algorithms.
Figure 1.5 shows that BC is not involved in inter IoT communications
that is why the system is not able to ensure data integrity, privacy, and secu­
rity mechanisms. In this model, BC stores the communication/transaction
history of the IoT devices. This is one of the fast communication models
between IoT devices.

1.7.1.2 IoT-BLOCKCHAIN (BC) COMMUNICATION

In this model, all transactions among the IoT devices go through the BC.
This model is enriched with the capability to ensure the data privacy, reli­
ability, and safety of both data and transactions.
Figure 1.6 shows the IoT device communication model through BC,
which ensures that stored records of each transaction will be immutable,
and transaction details are traceable as its features can be verified in the BC.
Although, BC upsurges the autonomy of IoT devices but it may suffer from
BC overhead which causes latency.
16 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

FIGURE 1.5 IoT-IoT communication model.

FIGURE 1.6 IoT-blockchain communication model.

1.7.1.3 HYBRID COMMUNICATION

The last communication model is a hybrid communication model, in which


IoT communication involves the CLOUD/FOG networks. This model shifts
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 17

partially or most of the computation load, such as encryption, hashing, and


compression, from IoT devices to Fog nodes.
Figure 1.7 shows an IoT integrated with BC technology, which can
transfer high computation load and time-consuming algorithm to Fog node.
In this way, fog, and cloud computing comes into play and complement the
shortcoming of BC and IoT [21].

FIGURE 1.7 Hybrid communication model.

1.7.2 SECURITY IN BLOCKCHAIN (BC) AND IoT

The IoTs is a structure of machine-to-machine (M2M) associations, with no


human involvement at all. Hence establishing faith with the participation
of machines is a formidable challenge that IoT equipment still has not met
broadly. The BC can take steps as a medium in this process, for improved
scalability, protection of data, dependability, and privacy. This process can be
done by BC technology to follow all devices which are connected to the IoT
environment, and after that, it is used to make possible and/or synchronize
all transaction processing. By using the BC function, we can fully remove a
single point of failure (SPF) in IoT structure. In BC, data is encrypted using
various algorithms like cryptographic algorithms and hashing techniques.
18 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

Therefore, the function of BC provides improved security services in an IoT.


The function of BC technology is to repair the digital market. It has a guarantee
and retaining both main and preliminary concerns of the function of the BC.
The BC keeps the record of a group of sequential and sequence of informa­
tion transactions since it can be read as a massive networked time-stamping
system. The controllers are too concerned in BC’s capability to recommend
protected, confidential, immediately perceptible monitoring of transactions.
Therefore, the BC can facilitate us to avoid the tampering and spoofing of
data by the organization and securing the industrial IoT devices [22].
The BC records every transaction and provides a cross-border overall
distributed confidence. Many times, it is possible that Trusted Third Party
systems or central location-based services can be vitiated or hacked. In BC,
when transactions are confirmed by consensus, then the block data are accept­
able to all. The BC can be constructed as: (1) permissioned network, which
is generally a private network; and (2) permissionless, a public network.
Permissioned BC offers new privacy and improved access functionality.
The BC can resolve these types of challenges effortlessly, strongly, and
competently. It has been generally used for providing reliable and certified
uniqueness registration, possession track, and monitor of products, supplies,
and resources. IoT devices are not exempted, BC is able to identity all the
connected IoT devices [17]. For security purposes, the BC supports the IoT
as mentioned below.

1.7.2.1 DATA AUTHENTICATION AND INTEGRITY

The data transmission through IoT devices is linked to the BC network and
it will be cryptographically proofed and signed via the correct correspondent
to hold an exclusive public key and GUID (global unique identifier) which
do not require any verification for its uniqueness, and thus it guarantees the
verification and truthfulness of transmitting data. Additionally, all transac­
tions complete toward or through an IoT device. Its transaction details are
recorded on the BC ledger, which enables it to be tracked easily [17].

1.7.2.2 AUTHENTICATION, AUTHORIZATION, AND PRIVACY

In BC, SCs can offer a decentralized verification policy and sense to be


capable of providing a particular and combined verification to an IoT device.
The SCs are able to provide another effective permission access policy to link
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 19

IoT devices, employing a smaller amount of complexity while one compares


among fixed approval protocols such as role-based access management
(RBAC) [23], OpenID, etc. Nowadays, these protocols are generally used
for managing, authorization, and verification of IoT devices [17].

1.7.2.3 SAFE AND PROTECTED CONNECTIONS

In general, communication protocols that are used by IoT applications;


HTTP, MQTT, XMPP, and many other routing protocols that are not
protected in design. These protocols are required to be wrapped with the new
security protocols for providing secure communications. The new security
protocols can be enriched with BC technology; which are DTLS (datagram
transport-level security) or TLS [24] with the BC. Key management and
identity allocation are completely removed from all IoT devices because it
would contain its own single and distinctive GUID and the asymmetric key
pair values once mounted and associated to the BC system [17].
Although the BC provides a strong approach for protected IoT, the
consensus method depending on the miner’s hashing control can be
conceded, thus permit the hacker/attacker to host the BC. Also, the private
keys among restricted uncertainty can be dried up to compromise the BC
accounts. Efficient methods up till now need to be distinct to make sure the
privacy of transactions and keep away from race attack, which can affect
inside dual spending throughout the transactions [17].
The IoT device has very limited storage and computing power; it can
still produce safe and protected keys. Once a key is created, the public key
is attached to the Public Key data field in addition to the elected IoT receiver
and mined with the BC. While protected data communication via BC is
not suggested because access to all nature of a broadcast BC on a server, a
BC-based public key swap permitted for IoT to set-up non-interactive key
managing protocols [25]. With a Non-Interactive Protocol, session key series
utilizing a mixture of BC data fields as ‘salt’ may provide an effective solu­
tion for updating the IoT session keys for safe and secure data transfer. Still,
this research field is required to be explored further for better outcomes [26].
A few other aspects of BC technology are; it can resolve the IoT security
issues considering its limited storage and low computation power. Because
efficient, lightweight, integrated blockchain (ELIB) [27] with IoT devices,
protects it from security breaches. ELIB easily copes with the computational
20 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

complexity and several other issues like low bandwidth, delay, and overhead,
etc.
The BC structure is offering a trustful background used for data storage
and access. This structure has two characters. One is data integrity, and
another is role-based data access characters. In data integrity, the structure
avoids data stored within if it is being altered. In role-based data access, it is
a guarantee that the structure recommends special data access permissions
toward different users and IoT devices [28, 29].
Compared to the cloud-based centralized system, the BC system is a
decentralized system that has a benefit in protecting certain specific attacks
(e.g., distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks). The BC system does
concern with the particular point of failure problem, which can occur in
the cloud-based centralized system. The centralized system is typically
controlled by a manager. If the hacker/attacker pinch the manager’s account,
they can randomly change the system data. While we were well-known, the
data or conversion in the BC system is altered conflict [29].
Privacy and security are most essential in the IoT environment. Within
the cloud-based centralized system, user’s data are stored randomly, which
can simply be hacked by the attackers/hackers. The BC system can offer the
independence service by the public-key cryptography method. Furthermore,
communication in the IoT environment accepts the AES encryption algo­
rithm, which is extremely flexible to the resource-constrained IoT mecha­
nism. Access control is also an essential mechanism in the IoT system; the
smart contract of the BC system be able to offer this type of security service
[28].
Researchers have observed that associating BC with IoT is beneficial
to handle security and privacy issues, which can probably transform many
industries. It is pertinent to mention here that IoT security has always been a
pressing concern. To explain this, let us take an example of six IoT devices;
the Chamberlain MyQ Garage, the Chamberlain MyQ Internet Gateway, the
SmartThings Hub, the Ubi from Unified Computer Intelligence Corporation,
the Wink Hub, and the Wink Relay; that are tested by a US-based applica­
tion security company “Veracode” in 2015. The Veracode team found five
devices, out of six, had serious security issues. The team was responsible for
observing the implementation and various security issues of the communi­
cation protocol used in IoT systems. The front-end (services between user
and cloud) and back-end (between IoT devices and cloud) were examined,
and it is found that except SmartThings Hub, the devices even unsuccessful
to have a robust password. Besides, Ubi is deficient in encryption for user
Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 21

connection. These security breaches can cause to a man-in-the-middle attack.


When the team examined the back-end connection, results were even worst.
They also lacked the protection from replay attacks.
In the era of technological automation, hacking of IoT devices has severe
consequences. The incorporation of BC technology in IoT [8] is being well
adopted through a broad perspective of measures purported to reinforce
security. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is one of the novel types
of IoT which is built on cellular networks. It can directly be deployed on
long-term evolution (LTE) architecture. BC technology is applied [30] to
ensure reliable data integrity and authentication.
Several mission-critical [31] applications, moving towards automation,
are getting popular. Ocado, an online supermarket in Britain, is fully equipped
with IoT to stringently improve the warehouse. Installed RFID chips into
the Ocado warehouse can sense when the new stock requirements are to be
ordered or the status of the remaining number of items in the warehouse. BC
technology is used to ensure data integrity, and its decentralized replication
technique alienates the requirement to have entire IoT data collected at a
central location. This is possible because SCs, stored on the BC, would not
allow any modification to the contracts.
Although BC technology can protect from vulnerabilities, it still suffers
from some issues. SCs in BC are visible to all the users that can cause bugs
and vulnerabilities; these are the bugs that cannot be fixed in the stipulated
time duration. Some other drawback includes its complexity, high computa­
tion, and sometimes resource wastage.

1.8 A COMPARATIVE STUDY

This section includes a comparative study on the previously developed system


with the BC-IoT-based system. BC technology and IoT can be considered
as emerging realities in the current epoch, and these two technologies can
transform civilization at a rapid pace [32]. From Table 1.3, one can see that
wireless sensor networks (WSN) [33] and the IoTs based on systems are not
immutable, IoT-Cloud is partially immutable. At the same time, IoT-BC is a
completely immutable system.
IoT-Cloud allows participant to participant (P2P) sharing while IoT-BC
supports P2P as well as a participant to machine (P2M) and M2M sharing
also. All other systems support limited sharing only. Table 1.3 lists the
BC-enabled IoT system with respect to certain properties.
22
TABLE 1.3 A Comparison of Blockchain-IoT based System with Traditional SHM Systems
Simple [34] WSN [33, 35] IoT [36, 37] IoT-Cloud [30, 38] IoT-Blockchain [32]
1. De-centralize Completely Completely Completely Mostly decentralized Entirely decentralized
centralized centralized centralized
2. Reliability Highly not reliable High data Data tampering is Data tampering is Tempering is not possible
tempering possible easily possible easily
3. Storage, Privacy, Security, Low Low Intermediate Intermediate Considerably higher
and Confidentiality
4. Immutable Behavior Not immutable Not immutable Not immutable Partially immutable Fully immutable

Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems


5. Real-time Nearly-real time Real-time Real-time Real-time Nearly-real time

6. Communication and Confined Confined Data processing and Data processing, P2M and M2M
Transparent information monitoring monitoring monitoring monitoring, and P2P communications,
Sharing information sharing autonomous decision
making using Smart
contract-based analysis
7. Interoperability Lower Lower Intermediate level Intermediate level High

8. Re-Active Maintenance Lower Low Medium Medium Effectively high


Blockchain Technology: Introduction, Integration, and Security Issues with IoT 23

Observations from Table 1.3 show that the BC-enabled IoT system is
the most suitable system to ensure reliability, immutability, interoperability,
and security, etc., as indicated in the table. Therefore, one can conclude that
BC technology is the most suited technology for IoT-enabled systems. A
BC-based decentralized system is most suitable for IoT networks; which is
validated by a study of Rathore et al. [39]. In this, a review is done on central­
ized, distributed, and decentralized systems using various measures like
accuracy, F-score, detection rate, etc. [40, 41]. Therefore, we can conclude
that decentralized BC system is the most suitable system of IoT networks.

1.9 CONCLUSION

This chapter defines the fundamentals of BC technology, along with its


components. A comparative study of various BC technology is also high­
lighted. Various application areas are mentioned in this chapter. A BC
technology, ETH, is described that can be used to implement the public BC.
It ensures the transparency of the information. The importance of BC is also
explained with the help of the relevant examples.
IoT is an upcoming technology that is being introduced for a smart
environment. With such a prevalent environment, security is a measure of
concern. This chapter also introduces how BC can be used for security in
IoT. BC, being a distributive technology, plays a good role in IoT security.
The comparative study section of the chapter infers the same.

KEYWORDS

• blockchain
• central database
• cryptography
• distributed denial of service
• Ethereum
• Internet of Things

REFERENCES

1. Atlam, H. F., & Wills, G. B., (2019). Technical aspects of blockchain and IoT. In:
Advances in Computers (Vol. 115, pp. 1–39). Elsevier.
24 Applications of Blockchain and Big IoT Systems

2. Li, X., Jiang, P., Chen, T., Luo, X., & Wen, Q., (2017). A survey on the security of
blockchain systems. Future Generation Computer Systems.
3. Dwivedi, A. D., Srivastava, G., Dhar, S., & Singh, R., (2019). A decentralized privacy-
preserving healthcare blockchain for IoT. Sensors, 19(2), 326.
4. Sultan, K., Ruhi, U., & Lakhani, R., (2018). Conceptualizing Blockchains:
Characteristics & Applications. arXiv preprint arXiv:1806.03693.
5. Nakamoto, S., (2019). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Mangubat.
6. Nofer, M., Gomber, P., Hinz, O., & Schiereck, D., (2017). Blockchain. Business &
Information Systems Engineering, 59(3), 183–187.
7. Ramakrishnan, R., & Gaur, L., (2016). Application of Internet of Things (IoT) for smart
process manufacturing in Indian packaging industry. Information Systems Design and
Intelligent Applications (pp. 339–346). Springer.
8. Kumar, S., & Raza, Z., (2018). Internet of things: Possibilities and challenges. In: Fog
Computing: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 1–24). IGI Global.
9. Ramakrishnan, R., & Gaur, L., (2019). Internet of Things: Approach and Applicability
in Manufacturing. CRC Press,
10. Kumar, N. M., & Mallick, P. K., (2018). Blockchain technology for security issues and
challenges in IoT. Procedia Computer Science, 132, 1815–1823.
11. Zhu, L., Gai, K., & Li, M., (2019). Blockchain and Internet of Things. In: Blockchain
Technology in Internet of Things (pp. 9–28). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
12. Ali, M. S., Vecchio, M., Pincheira, M., Dolui, K., Antonelli, F., & Rehmani, M. H.,
(2018). Applications of blockchains in the Internet of Things: A comprehensive survey.
IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 21(2), 1676–1717.
13. Ghimire, A., (2020). Brief Survey and Testbed Development for Blockchain-Based
Internet of Things. The University of Mississippi.
14. Delmolino, K., Arnett, M., Kosba, A., Miller, A., & Shi, E., (2016). Step by step towards
creating a safe smart contract: Lessons and insights from a cryptocurrency lab. In:
International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security (pp. 79–94).
Springer.
15. Ahmad, F., Ahmad, Z., Kerrache, C. A., Kurugollu, F., Adnane, A., & Barka, E., (2019).
Blockchain in internet-of-things: Architecture, applications and research directions. In:
2019 International Conference on Computer and Information Sciences (ICCIS) (pp.
1–6). IEEE.
16. Syed, T. A., Alzahrani, A., Jan, S., Siddiqui, M. S., Nadeem, A., & Alghamdi, T., (2019).
A Comparative analysis of blockchain architecture and its applications: Problems and
recommendations. IEEE Access, 7, 176838–176869.
17. Khan, M. A., & Salah, K., (2018). IoT security: Review, blockchain solutions, and open
challenges. Future Generation Computer Systems, 82, 395–411.
18. Fernández-Caramés, T. M., & Fraga-Lamas, P., (2018). A review on the use of blockchain
for the Internet of Things. IEEE Access, 6, 32979–33001.
19. Kshetri, N., (2017). Blockchain’s roles in strengthening cybersecurity and protecting
privacy. Telecommunications Policy, 41(10), 1027–1038.
20. Panarello, A., Tapas, N., Merlino, G., Longo, F., & Puliafito, A., (2018). Blockchain and
IoT integration: A systematic survey. Sensors, 18(8), 2575.
21. Reyna, A., Martín, C., Chen, J., Soler, E., & Díaz, M., (2018). On blockchain and
its integration with IoT. Challenges and opportunities. Future Generation Computer
Systems, 88, 173–190.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
“Do you remember, Rank, that evening the Pebworths and
ourselves went to the Gaiety?”
“Perfectly.”
“You bowed to an awfully pretty woman in the stalls. She was
with a good-looking bounder.”
I knew perfectly well whom he meant, of course; but, as he
paused for me to refresh my memory, I looked puzzled.
“You must remember—an extraordinarily pretty woman.”
I still looked blank.
“Surely you must remember. A fair woman with fluffy hair and
enormous blue eyes, but not a bit dolly, like most fair women. Rather
a large mouth.”
“Oh yes; I think I remember.”
“Well, I fancy she’s married to that man.”
“If it’s the girl I think you mean, she is married to him. Her name
is Sibella Holland.” It was not very well-bred to call Lionel Holland a
bounder without first finding out if he was a friend of mine.
“What a ripping name! They’ve got a flat below mine. I should
very much like to know them.”
“Do you want me to introduce you?”
Considering that Sir Anthony had gone out of his way on more
than one occasion to be rude to me, I could not help thinking that
there was a certain insolence in his obvious readiness to make use
of me. If he intended doing so, however, I should certainly return the
compliment.
“I am obliged to hurry away now, but that’s my address. I am
usually at home between six and seven.”
I gave him a card and said good-bye.
I had promised to spend the evening with the Gascoynes. I was
making immense strides with their niece, and I fancy that both Mr.
and Mrs. Gascoyne were a little surprised at our having so much in
common.
Chapter XIV
If I was to have access to Sibella at all, it was necessary to make
friends with her husband, and the only way to make friends with him
was to be useful to him. I knew quite well that my continued success
—and success in his eyes was a question of moving in a higher
grade of society—had annoyed him beyond measure. He believed
that money ought to be able to buy anything. Money is a thing the
power of which the vulgar are always overrating and the cultured are
always underrating. He and Sibella had a large income, with the
prospect of a very much larger one, therefore the doors of good
society should fly open. They knew people who had been her friends
before marriage, and who moved in what a celebrated English lady
novelist would have called “genteel circles,” but her husband, having
neither the atmosphere of good breeding nor the tact which might
have taken its place, was ambitious of forcing the most select
assemblies.
If I could be of use to him in this way I was sure that he would be
content to waive his dislike for the present, especially as he
imagined himself to be in sole possession of the prize we had
contended for.
It was, of course, just possible that Sibella herself might now
object to my coming to the house. She might have fallen
passionately in love with her husband, as wives often do after
marriage. Lady Pebworth was still ready to do anything for me, and if
Sibella was still ready to receive me, I must persuade her ladyship to
call.
I met Lionel on his way home from the City one evening, and
somewhat to his surprise stopped to speak to him. He was a little
cool at first, but I was careful to start a conversation about himself,
and he warmed to the subject at once.
He talked of being sick of the City. His father was very ill, and he
expressed his intention of selling out and giving up the business
should anything happen to the old gentleman.
“I shall go and live in the country, and get as much hunting and
shooting as I can manage.”
“Still, a man ought to do something,” I suggested.
“Oh, cut that; don’t preach.”
“I wasn’t thinking of it from a moral point of view. You’re a rich
man. You ought to furnish the powers that be with sufficient excuse
for giving you something later on.”
“What do you mean?”
“A man with twenty thousand a year may aspire to anything.”
“What am I to do?”
“Go in for politics. The losing side, of course. They’ll be having
their spell of office in a few years.”
“I don’t know anything about politics.”
“No, but you’ve got intelligence; you’ll soon learn.”
He looked flattered. Inwardly I smiled at the idea of his being in
the House of Commons.
“How does one begin?”
It was strange that Lionel, who was heir to a couple of
newspapers, should know so little.
“Oh, you get to know all the right people. Let them know that you
are ready to drop a certain amount of money. Lady Pebworth was
saying only the other day that their people want money. She’s rather
a power in the political world, you know.”
He looked vacant, and had the frankness to ask:
“Who’s Lady Pebworth?”
“Well, her husband was in the last Cabinet. Your wife ought to
know her. Lady Pebworth admired her immensely the only time she
saw her.”
“Have they met?”
“No, but do you remember one evening when you and Sibella
were in the stalls at the Gaiety, and I was in a box with some
people?”
“Yes.”
“That was Lady Pebworth. She has been very civil to me. I don’t
suppose I should have had such a good time if it had not been for
her.”
This admission of my own indebtedness to someone else for the
entrée to certain houses that he had envied me made him quite
genial, and broke down the barrier between us, while a little more
flattery judiciously laid on accomplished what I desired.
“You haven’t been to see us yet,” he said, quite graciously.
“I haven’t been asked,” I laughed.
“I’ll get Sibella to write and ask you to one of our Sunday
lunches.”
We parted quite amicably, and I think I left him under the
impression that I was most anxious to be friendly with him.
Sir Anthony Cross delayed coming to see me, as I thought he
would, but evidently he could think of no other way of making
Sibella’s acquaintance, and one evening when I was drinking tea—a
habit to which I am addicted—he was shown in.
“No thanks, I never drink tea. I don’t know what people see in it.”
There was a perceptible patronage in his manner. He assumed
the usual attitude of an Englishman of birth when brought into
familiar intercourse with a man of whose caste he is not sure. There
was no superficial fault to be found with his manner, but it was
obvious to a keen perception that he presumed a gulf.
“Not tea as they make it in this country,” I answered languidly.
“Tea drinking is an art. It is one of the most extraordinary facts of the
latter part of the nineteenth century how readily the country
exchanged China for Indian tea, and yet it is like preferring cider to
champagne.” I pushed the cigars towards him. “Most men cannot
appreciate tea because their palates are ruined by alcohol.”
The cigar put him in a good temper; I knew that it was something
exceptional.
He was not interested in the subject of tea, but at the same time,
being a gentleman, he hardly liked to make it too patent that he had
come about an introduction to a woman, and that further than
obtaining that introduction he was not prepared to consider our
acquaintance.
“You’ve got a jolly little place here,” he said, looking round. I knew
that in his heart he considered it somewhat overdone.
“I am a Jew, and as an Oriental I defy the canons of Western
good taste in order to get the amount of colour necessary to my
appetite.”
He did not quite follow, and I did not intend that he should. It was
of no account. There were limits even to my adaptability, and I am
afraid I never could have adapted myself to the idiosyncrasies of Sir
Anthony Cross. I don’t think he had a single delicate sentiment in
him.
After a time, and when I considered he had listened to me long
enough to be sufficiently subdued, I said: “Oh, by the way, I met
Holland, Mrs. Holland’s husband, you know, a few days ago.”
“Yes?” He made a valiant effort to conceal his interest.
“They are only just married, and of course very much in love.”
“What is he?”
“Well, as far as I know, he is something in his father’s business.
His father is enormously wealthy—owns a couple of newspapers. I
don’t think he’ll hold out much longer though, and then the young
people will come into everything.”
Riches did not mean much to Sir Anthony Cross. He had eighty
thousand a year, so report said.
He was evidently too obsessed with the idea of Sibella to be
turned aside by a husband.
“Of course,” I continued, “her brother is my greatest friend; we
were at school together. She and I used to be sweethearts when we
were children, but when Lionel Holland came on the scene he cut
me out.”
“She looks a charming woman, and I should very much like to
know her.”
“I can introduce you to Holland if you like. I’ll ask them both to
dine and meet you.”
Sir Anthony hardly disguised his joy.
“I shall be delighted,” he said.
“Then I’ll let you know when I’ve fixed things up.”
I gave him the opportunity of departing, but he stayed on, talking
incessantly of Sibella. He was so infatuated as to be unable to
appreciate how obvious he was making it that he was seeking an
introduction to a married woman because he was in love with her.
I knew that Sir Anthony was a friend of Ughtred Gascoyne’s, and
it might so happen that he would be useful to me in that direction.
“Have you known Mrs. Goodsall long?” he asked.
“A few weeks.”
“Don’t know Gascoyne, do you?”
“Who is he?”
“Ughtred Gascoyne; I thought everybody knew him. He’s a great
pal of hers. People do say things, but I don’t believe it myself. I
mention him because I’ve heard a rumour that her husband is dead,
and that she and Gascoyne are going to be married.”
“Indeed?”
“Of course they’ve always been thick, but it isn’t often the man
does the right thing.”
I laughed.
“No, there’s all the difference in being able to go and see a
woman when you want to and being obliged to see her when you
don’t want to. Such a prospect immediately subjects her to a new
test. I know a great many women who are delightful companions, but
I should not care to live with them.”
He went away at last, after making me promise again that I would
arrange the dinner and let him know.
I was determined, if possible, to persuade Lady Pebworth to be of
the party, and called on her a day or two after. She had just returned
to town, and received me rather coldly. She had been away for three
months, and she protested that I had written to her but twice during
her absence. I pointed out that she was blaming me for a too
zealous care of her reputation, and that it was one thing for her to
write to me when the chance of her letters being seen by anyone
else was practically non-existent, and quite another thing for me to
write to her, and that I had only done so when I was certain that Lord
Pebworth was out of the way. It took me some time to soothe her,
inasmuch as she informed me that she thought our friendship had
better cease, and I really believe she was in the mood to take a great
resolution. This roused me to an effort. It was not convenient to
quarrel with her at the moment. I regret to say that in the course of
our interview her ladyship so far forgot what was due to good taste
as to throw my obscurity in my face, and to make a scarcely veiled
insinuation that had it not been for her I should not have been
acquainted with anyone of consequence. At this I dignifiedly rose,
and, telling her that I had no wish to intrude where I was considered
an adventurer, moved towards the door. Then she begged my
pardon, said she could not understand how she came to be so rude,
and professed her undying readiness to do anything for me. A
weaker diplomatist might have seized the opportunity to mention the
dinner-party, but I cautiously paid court to her for some days before I
asked her if she would come and meet Sibella and her husband. I
explained that Lionel was quite ready to be of financial use to her
political organisation, putting it in such a way that it was impossible
for her to take offence. Finally, she said she would be very glad, so I
made up my dinner-party, which was quite a little social triumph.
I fancy Sir Anthony Cross was surprised when he heard whom he
was asked to meet.
I entertained them at the best restaurant in town. Sibella’s
manners were perfect—they always were when she chose—and
Lady Pebworth took an immediate liking to her, I of course being
very careful not to show the least partiality for her.
The Hollands thus found themselves taken up by a woman who
could probably launch them better than they could, in their wildest
dreams, have expected. To do her justice, I do not think Sibella
would have run after anybody for the purpose of getting into better
society. She had enough of the Hallward pride and egotism to save
her from vulgarity. At the same time she was quite prepared to swim
with the tide and hold her own.
Sir Anthony managed to keep his admiration within bounds, and
the evening was a great success. We finished up by spending an
hour at a famous theatre of varieties. Lionel Holland from this time
attached himself to me much more than I cared about. He was
amazingly proud of Sir Anthony’s friendship, and I fancy that
exclusive gentleman had to pay somewhat dearly for the privilege of
being near Sibella so much. He became quite the friend of the
house, however.
Sibella’s dazzling beauty was not long in making its way. She was
noticed at a brilliant social function by exalted folk, and as a
consequence was presented by Lady Pebworth. Lionel was selected
as a forlorn hope for the next General Election, and Mr. Holland was
so pleased that he appreciably increased their allowance.
It may be asked what good this was all doing me. As a matter of
fact, it is an instance of how impossible it is to generalise about
character. I was perfectly sure of my power over Sibella, and enjoyed
seeing her admired and sweeping everything before her.
They could not get away from the fact—and I don’t think Sibella
had any wish to—that it was I who had launched them. Of course,
people tried to shatter Sibella’s reputation by way of putting a speedy
stop to her upward climb, but nothing could be said which was in any
way susceptible of proof.
I had not since her marriage treated her with anything except the
most ordinary friendliness. I was certainly not going to risk a snub. I
was convinced of one thing, that had I made a more strenuous effort
to win her from Lionel Holland I might have done so. Perhaps some
intuitive feeling warned me to suffer, and not to risk my own ultimate
profit.
Whilst engaged in trifles I was not neglecting the main business
of my life. I had not been able to avoid an introduction to Ughtred
Gascoyne, who somewhat inopportunely took a fancy to me. It was
rather awkward, as it would have been far more convenient to have
remained unknown.
By degrees it leaked out that Catherine Goodsall’s husband was
dead, and that she and Ughtred Gascoyne were going to be married.
She told me the news herself, with tears in her eyes. I am sure I
should have been glad if the words of congratulation I spoke could
have been sincere, and I really hoped that things could at least be so
arranged that they might have some time of married happiness
before Ughtred Gascoyne was removed. But this was not my
business; and, further, it might result in another human obstacle
being placed in my path.
Their wedding was fixed for a day in Christmas week. It was now
October. I had therefore not much time to lose. Of course, neither of
them was young, and it was improbable that they would have any
children, but it was possible. I had so managed to make everything
in my mind subservient to my main object that the prospect of
Catherine Goodsall’s disappointment only raised a momentary pang.
I racked my brains by day and night, trying to devise some new
and entirely original way of starting Ughtred Gascoyne on his way to
a happier world.
Being known as a friend of his, it would not do to use poison.
Pistols and daggers, although they have their uses, both in
melodrama and out of it, did not commend themselves. They
suggested danger, blood, and noise. I had early grasped the cardinal
principles of my undertaking; firstly, that I must be absolutely
relentless; and, secondly, that the word horror must be eliminated
from my vocabulary.
As I lay awake one night in my room in St. James’s thinking the
matter over, I heard the cry of fire, the galloping of horses, and the
jingle of the engine as it swayed along Piccadilly. I have always been
fond of fires: even as a small boy they possessed a weird fascination
for me.
I lay debating whether I should not get up and see the fun. It was
evidently not far off, for I could hear the hiss of the water as it shot
through the air, and the shouts of men. Suddenly an idea came into
my head. Fire was apparently used as a rule in the clumsiest way by
murderers. How often may it not have been used successfully and
with complete secrecy?
It was important to keep in mind that successful crimes do not as
a rule come to light.
Arson to the average mind always conveys a sensation of horror
that is perhaps wanting in all other crimes. Suffocation or burning
were neither of them pleasant methods, but I was not to be deterred
by a sentiment.
The idea, once in my brain, became fixed. I found it impossible to
dislodge it. I should have liked to go to the British Museum and read
up all the details I could obtain of crime by arson, but this would have
been a risky proceeding, and might in the never-to-be-forgotten
contingency of my falling under suspicion be exceedingly damning.
I should have to trust to my own invention. Ughtred Gascoyne
had asked me to call on him, and early one Sunday morning I did so.
He occupied an upper part in Albemarle Street. There was a side
door and a flight of stairs leading to his rooms. I immediately grasped
the importance of the fact that there was no porter or lift. He had a
manservant who slept on the floor above his own, and a woman who
came in in the daytime. The establishment was thus conveniently
miniature. On the first floor he had a sitting-room that led into his
bedroom, with a bathroom beyond. Above this was his dining-room,
which was seldom used; also a kitchen and a very small bedroom for
his servant. The place was old, curiously so for such a smart quarter
of the town, and, I imagined, highly combustible.
The rooms were too solidly furnished for my purpose, but they
had muslin curtains and a fair number of knick-knacks. I quite
realised that it was an off chance, but at the same time I believed it
could be carried out with little or no personal risk. What I particularly
wished to do was to enter his rooms with him at night without
anybody being aware of it, and to leave them unnoticed.
The Sunday morning I called on him he was, I fancy, a little
surprised to see me, but evidently quite pleased.
“I am very fond of young people, and I like to have them about
me. Mrs. Goodsall and I agree on that. I cannot understand old
people who are content to vegetate with their faded contemporaries.”
“It isn’t everybody who gets on with young people.”
“It is merely a question of mood. You must feel young, and you
will get on with them well enough.”
“To feel young. Therein lies the difficulty for most people.”
“Yes, most people eat and drink and sedenterate themselves—if I
may coin a verb—into premature old age.”
Whilst he talked I was wondering how long it would take to
suffocate a human being, and what density of smoke was necessary,
and whether he was a heavy sleeper, a fact he was good enough to
enlighten me on.
“Youth is merely a question of spirits, and spirits are largely if not
entirely a question of sleep. No, I have never missed a night’s sleep
in my life that I can remember, not even”—he lowered his voice
—“when my mother died.”
“You are lucky. I wish I could say as much.”
“Directly my head touches the pillow I am asleep, and I don’t
wake till I am called.”
This was indeed good news, that is, if it could be relied upon. It is
amazing how people will lie about their own habits. They are a
matter of personal delusion to a great extent, and people talking
about themselves will, in good faith, deny idiosyncrasies of which
their intimates are fully aware.
For aught I could be sure of, Ughtred Gascoyne was a martyr to
insomnia, although he certainly did not suggest it.
His bedroom was a light, airy room with very little furniture, and a
severe, narrow bed such as is affected by the average English
gentleman, and is to me an abomination.
At any rate, this was the room it was my business to set on fire
with such completeness as might ensure the passing of Ughtred
Gascoyne.
It is the usual habit for those with a weakness for arson to empty
paraffin oil over a quantity of furniture, and then set a light to it, a
method of procedure that nearly always leads to detection. I
remembered when thinking over my plans that Ughtred Gascoyne’s
rooms were lighted by lamps and not by electric light. Would this
help me in any way? It might. I already foresaw that my nerve and
courage would be called into play in this enterprise far more than
had hitherto been the case.
October passed and some part of November, and nothing had
been done, except that I had grown more and more friendly with
Ughtred Gascoyne. He was very musical, and liked to hear me sing
and play.
Sometimes I made a point of meeting him late at night on his way
home from the club, and went in and smoked a cigar with him. I
could not help reflecting how very much those whom it was my
unfortunate duty to remove seemed to like me. Perhaps it was a
premonition that I was about to do them a good turn or what might
prove to be so.
His servant was usually in bed when I returned to his rooms with
him at night.
Both Catherine Goodsall and he were always talking of the time
they would have me to stay with them at the little place they were
taking in the country.
“Quite small,” said Ughtred Gascoyne, “but altogether delightful,
isn’t it, Catherine?”
“You know, dear, I’m in love with it. I am looking forward to having
a little vault in that dear old church with a stained glass window, to
the memory of Ughtred and Catherine Gascoyne of this parish.”
“I can’t say that that is a very cheerful way of looking forward.”
“Well, it’s only when that happens that a woman can be said to
have her husband to herself.”
We laughed. It was really quite delightful to see how happy they
meant to be, and after all if “man never is but always to be blest,”
and the pleasure of all things is a question of the imagination and
lies almost entirely in anticipation, they had had as much pleasure
out of it as could be expected.
I knew the time Ughtred Gascoyne usually went home, and my
meetings with him, looked upon by him as accidental, were by no
means so.
November went by, and it was the first week in December, and,
strangely enough in this perverse climate of ours, the weather was
bitterly cold. It was the sort of weather for my purpose, for Ughtred
Gascoyne was a great stickler for fresh air, and it was only in such
weather as this that he was likely to shut his windows. He was
turning into Bond Street one night when I passed him. I laughed as
we met.
“You won’t be allowed to stay out as late as this soon.”
“No, penal servitude is upon me. Coming in?”
We went up to his room, where there was a bright fire burning.
“Now, this is comfortable. By the way, I met a cousin of mine to-
day. He says you are in his office.”
“I told you I was in a stockbroker’s office.”
“Yes, but you never told me he was my cousin, and that you are
also a cousin.”
“I always leave the Gascoynes to find me out themselves. You
see, my mother was a Gascoyne, and she was left to keep lodgings
in Clapham.”
He looked at me kindly.
“You don’t feel bitter?”
“Oh dear no, only it isn’t a great encouragement to push myself
forward, is it?”
“He tells me that there is another cousin of mine staying with him
and his wife. He describes her as beautiful. What do you think?”
“I agree. I knew her brother.”
“Poor Harry Gascoyne. Killed by a fall from his horse, wasn’t he?”
“Horse kicked him.”
“Strange, must have been a brute.”
I talked to him as he undressed. He was inquisitive about the
South Kensington household.
“Hardly know Gascoyne Gascoyne myself. Always heard he
married badly.”
“He married very well, only her father happened to be a linen-
draper.”
“Good heavens, that’s nothing in our days. Lord Southwick’s
father-in-law was a grocer, and a very distinguished old gentleman,
too. A damned sight better bred than ever the Southwicks were.
They all look like stable-boys. Sort of family in which you’d think the
women had been going wrong with the grooms for generations.
Southwick married groceries and manners at the same time.”
“Mrs. Gascoyne is a very charming woman.”
“My dear fellow, I can quite believe it. A man like Gascoyne
Gascoyne does not retain his polish undimmed if he has been living
for years with a woman who isn’t a lady at heart.”
“I don’t think Miss Gascoyne would be devoted to anyone who
was capable of offending the canons of good taste.”
“They are great friends?”
“I should think so.”
“Well, when I am married we must have a nice family party. Don’t
mind my getting into bed. You can let yourself out, can’t you?”
“Easily.”
I stood and talked to him while I put on my coat, and then I said
good-night.
“Oh, do you mind shutting my bedroom door, the woman makes
such a beastly row doing it if it’s left till the morning.”
“Good-night.”
“Good-night. Mind you come to my wedding.”
I shut the bedroom door. I was in the outer room alone. I went to
the door, and going outside shut it. Then I ran downstairs, opened
the front door and banged it, leaving myself inside. I sat down on the
stairs and waited. After a while I stole upstairs again. The darkened
room with the firelight playing over it looked very comfortable. I
gently took the glass off the reading-lamp, and, unscrewing the
burner, poured the contents over the foot of the curtains near which
was the only wicker chair in the room.
I had to close the old-fashioned shutters so as to screen the room
from any policeman on his beat as long as possible. One of my
original ideas had been to put a large piece of coal on the fire and
lower the register, leaving the room to fill with smoke.
The lowering of the register, however, would make noise. Things
were better as they were. While I was completing all these
arrangements I was on the alert for the least sound from the other
room. Again and again I paused, ready to make for the door and be
out of the house before he could reach me. I had placed a chair in
such a position in front of his door that he would be bound to trip
over it if he came out in a hurry.
Lastly came the most difficult part of my task. I had to remove the
chair and open his bedroom door slightly. I listened long and
carefully till a snore assured me that it was safe. I leant across the
chair and opened the door a little way. The heavy breathing in the
bed stopped. For one moment I felt terror; the next moment he had
snored again. I removed the chair.
The striking of a match might have betrayed me. I lit a piece of
paper at the fire and held it to the soaked curtains. Then I was out of
the room like a shot and downstairs. As I glanced back the room was
already full of flame.
When I emerged into the streets I looked carefully up and down.
There was not a policeman to be seen. I reached my rooms and
went to bed. I wish I could boast of such a nerve as would have
allowed me to sleep through the night.
The next morning I started for the City at the usual time. I
scanned the morning paper, but there was nothing about a fire in
Albemarle Street. At lunch-time the first thing that met my gaze as I
left the office was a placard issued by one of the earlier and cheaper
evening papers:—‘Gentleman suffocated in Albemarle Street.’
With an extraordinary calm I read that about three a.m. a fire
occurred at the chambers of the Hon. Ughtred Gascoyne, resulting in
the death of that gentleman, who was well known in social and
sporting circles. His servant, who slept on the floor above, was
awakened by the smell of smoke, and getting out of bed and
hurrying to the top of the stairs to arouse his master was driven back
by the flames and smoke. He was subsequently rescued by a fire
escape from the top storey.
On the fire being extinguished the unfortunate gentleman was
discovered in his bed. He must have been suffocated in his sleep.
I put down the paper with satisfaction and ate a good lunch. I had
at any rate not inflicted any great physical suffering.
Mr. Gascoyne came back from his lunch looking very white.
“It’s a most awful thing, Israel. There seems to be a curse on our
family.”
“Why, sir, what is the matter now?”
“You know my cousin Ughtred?”
“Yes.”
“The poor fellow has been suffocated in his bed.”
I appeared horrified. “You don’t mean to say at his rooms in
Albemarle Street?”
“Yes.”
I looked terribly concerned.
“He was to have been married quite soon.”
“So I understood. Mrs. Goodsall, the actress, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Curiously enough, I met him yesterday at the club of a friend of
mine. I hadn’t seen him for years.”
I called a hansom directly I left the office and drove to Albemarle
Street. A small group was watching the house from the other side of
the road. The windows were boarded up and the stonework round
them blackened with smoke. I knocked at the door, and it was
opened by Ughtred Gascoyne’s servant. He had reason to
remember me with gratitude, for I knew that servants are the
adventurer’s staunchest allies or greatest enemies.
“Will you step inside, sir? Lord Gascoyne has been here most of
the day. He’s just gone.”
I did not wish to meet his lordship.
“When do you expect him to return?”
“Not till to-morrow, sir.”
I went in. There was a gruesome smell of charred wood and
stuffs. I followed Mason upstairs.
“This it where it must have begun, sir.” He pointed to where the
wicker work chair had stood.
“What I can’t understand, sir, is how the shutters came to be
closed. I never knew Mr. Gascoyne to shut them, and he gave me
particular instructions to the contrary. There was no need for them,
you see.”
I looked towards the bedroom.
“They took him away to the mortuary, sir, to await the inquest. No
man could have been a better master.”
“He was a splendid chap, Mason. You know how I looked up to
him.” I spoke in my most ingenuous tones.
“And very fond he was of you, sir. He was always at home to
you.”
I pressed half a sovereign into his hand.
“Did he come home alone, Mason?”
“No, sir—at least, I fancy I heard voices. Oh yes, and I heard the
door bang. I don’t know who it was, sir, I’m sure.”
The front room was quite burnt out, and there could be absolutely
no trace of the oil with which I had started the conflagration.
I had apparently succeeded in a very risky undertaking.
I left a card at Mrs. Goodsall’s with my deepest sympathy. The
servant informed me she was quite prostrated, and I was made
somewhat uncomfortable by hearing sounds of sobbing from the
second storey of the tiny house.
At the Gascoynes’, where I was to dine, I found the household in
the deepest gloom. The tragedy seemed to have brought back
something of the bitterness of their own grief. It was too similar in its
horror to the death of the two young Gascoynes to be much
discussed. We avoided gloomy topics with an almost hysterical
earnestness, but it is extraordinary how matters of that kind will
obtrude themselves when they are desired not to do so. Left alone
with Mr. Gascoyne, however, the constraint passed and we talked
freely.
“Just one of those things that are quite inexplicable. The fire
brigade authorities do not agree with the theory that a live coal must
have dropped out of the grate. They think the fire originated at the
other end of the room, and that it must have been a cigarette or
something of the kind.”
“It doesn’t matter much what it was, does it?”
“Of course not; only one cannot help travelling round a case like
that and looking at it from every point of view. I called there this
afternoon.”
“And I was there this evening.”
“Did you see Lord Gascoyne?”
“No.”
“He was there when I called, and seemed terribly upset. He kept
on saying, ‘Poor Uncle Ughtred!’ and ‘He was the life and soul of
everything.’ ”
I could not see that these remarks of Lord Gascoyne’s were very
illuminating or helpful, but it is curious how little people trouble to be
sensible when they are talking of the dead.
Miss Gascoyne pressed my hand as I said good-night.
“What a friend you are! You are always cheering us. You knew
him, too, which makes it all the nicer of you to be so cheerful.”
“Good-night,” I said, and then threw into my glance a confession
of admiration for which I had been months preparing the way. I was
sure that had I ventured on such a thing a year before she would
have felt anger, born of injured pride, but now her eyes fell, and I
knew that I was on the road to success. She had taken me at my
own valuation, as I had intended she should.
Chapter XV
I was glad to discover that Ughtred Gascoyne had left all his little
fortune, excepting such as did not return to the Gascoyne coffers, to
Catherine Goodsall, and that she would be quite well off. She looked
very woebegone when I saw her again, but she was not a pessimist,
and soon pulled herself together; not that I believe she ever forgot
him. She gave me a tie-pin that had belonged to him, because he
had been very fond of me, and had often talked of me to her.
A Sunday or two afterwards I lunched with Sibella and her
husband. The old hunger for her was beginning to grow on me, and
impel me towards her.
They were for a wonder alone, and Lionel looked discontented.
He had evidently reached the frame of mind peculiar to vulgar folk,
who think that unless they are living at high pressure and constantly
entertaining or being entertained by those they consider great they
are dropping out of it. Great folk can afford their holidays, but such
social climbers as Lionel Holland can have no respite from the
treadmill of entertainment.
I think he was verily too stupid to see that it was his wife’s beauty
and charm, lacking in depth though they were, to which they owed
their improved position.
Sir Anthony Cross—who I knew was with them constantly—must
have played a very clever game, a much cleverer game than I had
imagined him capable of. To do Lionel justice, he was not the sort of
man to play the complaisant husband for the sake of any position,
and he had evidently not grasped that Sir Anthony’s presence at
their house was solely and entirely due to admiration of his wife.
I was certain that so far Sir Anthony had not even been permitted
to declare himself. Sibella was vain enough of his attention to keep
him dangling after her, but she had no notion of making herself
cheap to the men of a society the women of which she was anxious
to propitiate.
I suppose Lionel thought that an old lover like myself, who had
been discarded for years, was no possible danger. Possibly—for the
minx was clever—he had absolute confidence in Sibella.
At any rate, after lunch he left us together. It was the first time we
had been alone since her marriage.
It was a little awkward, but I exerted myself to free the situation
from constraint.
“Things have changed,” I said, lighting another cigarette with a
languid feeling of enjoyment at being alone with her, and conscious
that the ménage I had contemplated had begun.
“You are wonderful, Israel. It is quite extraordinary how people
talk about you, and quote what you say, and yet——” She paused,
and I laughed.
“And yet I began life in a third-rate Clapham lodging-house, and
am still only a clerk in a stockbroker’s office.”
“As far as that goes, I can’t quite see why people make such a
fuss of us.”
“Can’t you? Then look in the glass.”
Sibella rippled with laughter. She loved flattery, and expected it.
“My dear child,” I said lazily, “everything finds its level. We were
bound to rise. You and I, Sibella, are very wonderful people.”
“And Lionel?”
“Lionel is not in the least wonderful. He is good-looking, but by
himself he would never have wheeled the shortest flight above the
ordinary.”
“I won’t have you talking against my husband.”
“I am not talking against him. I have rather an affection for Lionel.
He is your husband.”
“It is sometimes borne in upon me, Israel, and I cannot say why,
that you are extraordinarily wicked.”
“What makes you think that?”
“There is something mysterious about you. There always was
even as a boy, and it has grown with you.”
I did not like to hear this. Above all people, a secret murderer
cannot afford to suggest the mysterious.
“Do you remember what a pretty little boy you were?” she asked.
“Perfectly.”
“Do you know, I’ve got a lock of your hair that I cut off at a
children’s party. It’s such a dear, silky little curl. Quite black.”
“Let me see it.”
She rose and left the room. Returning, she unwrapped the
covering of tissue paper and showed me the curl, as soft and sweet
as the day it was cut.
“My hair is coarser than that now,” I laughed.
“It’s very nice hair, Israel.”
And then I took her in my arms and kissed her, which may seem
rather premature, but there had been that in the conversation which
had led up to the situation. Of course, Sibella would not have been a
woman had she not declared that she would never forget that she
was now Lionel’s wife, and that on a former occasion she must have
been mad. She repeated that she always knew I was wicked, and
that I had gained an ascendancy over her. She then proceeded to
tell me that I was in love with Lady Pebworth, with whom she had
lately had a coolness. That lady evidently thought that she had
purchased by her introductions a perpetual right to the subservience
of Sibella and her husband. She was now experiencing the utter
callousness of Sibella’s disposition towards her own sex, a
callousness she was exceedingly clever at masking till she had
obtained what she wanted.
It was difficult to say where the weak point in Sibella’s armour
came in. She was, of course, vain, but as a rule her vanity was not
allowed to interfere with her interests. She was dominated to a great
extent by looks. It was this passion for beautiful people that had
made it a perfectly safe proceeding to introduce Sir Anthony Cross to
her. I was sure that no man so destitute of pretensions to physical
charm could ever win her suffrages. In fact, I was pleased to know
that he was always to be seen near her, for his case was hopeless.
“Perhaps it is a very good thing we did not marry, Sibella. A strict
barrier should always be preserved between the official and the
sentimental roles.”
“My dear Israel, Lionel is much more sentimental than you are.”

You might also like