Secure Blockchain Platform for Industrial IoT with Trusted Computing Hardware

Qing Yang, Hao Wang, Xiaoxiao Wu, Taotao Wang, Shengli Zhang, Naijin Liu

Abstract: As a disruptive technology that originates from cryptocurrency, blockchain provides a trusted platform to facilitate Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications. However, implementing a blockchain platform in IIoT scenarios faces various security challenges due to the rigorous deployment conditions. To this end, we present a novel design of secure blockchain based on trusted computing hardware for IIoT applications. Specifically, we employ a trusted execution environment (TEE) module and a customized security chip to safeguard the blockchain against different attack vectors. Furthermore, we implement the proposed secure IIoT blockchain on an ARM-based embedded device and build a small-scale IIoT network to evaluate its performance. Our experimental results show that the secure blockchain platform achieves high throughput (150 TPS) with low transaction confirmation delay (below 66 ms), demonstrating its feasibility in practical IIoT scenarios. Finally, we outline the open challenges and future research directions.