The proposed PoR consensus mechanism is designed to improve resilience against Byzantine failures by enabling reliable pairwise decision making under distributed adversarial environments and minimizes communication overhead during the block finalization by considering first two third of node responses, thereby enhancing the overall network throughput.
Abstract
In recent times, industries are expanding globally to meet the needs of growing population. Government and other regulatory bodies monitor industries to ensure compliance with standards particularly discharges that may pose threat to nearby residents. However, regulatory bodies often struggle with limited human resources that hinder the effectiveness of audit. This issue can be addressed by installing Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the industry to collect the data and store it on the servers, enabling regulatory bodies to review it remotely and conduct onsite inspection when anomalies detected. The challenging aspect is that the centrally stored data are vulnerable to cyberattacks and it can be tampered. Blockchain technology can provide a promising solution as it stores the data in the distributed ledger that is inherently tamper proof. However, using blockchain to store the data collected by IoT devices face challenges related to scalability. Further, latency will be also a concern due to the time taken by the consensus mechanism to validate the blocks and add them to the chain. To address these challenges, we introduce a novel consensus algorithm named Proof of Reward (PoR) tailored for applications demanding high throughput. The PoR consensus mechanism is designed to improve resilience against Byzantine failures by enabling reliable pairwise decision making under distributed adversarial environments. Further, the proposed consensus minimizes communication overhead during the block finalization by considering first two third of node responses, thereby enhancing the overall network throughput. The communication overhead of the proposed consensus is 34.78% lesser compared to Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) and 18.55% lesser compared to Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerant (IBFT). The obtained results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed consensus algorithm.
The proposed BlockSafeNet framework achieved significant improvements in secure IoT communication, privacy preservation, and AI-driven cyber threat detection within smart city infrastructures, providing a positive impact on the SC ecosystem.
This paper investigates the integration of blockchain and the IoV, addressing key findings and challenges associated with blockchain in the IoV domain while answering the study’s research questions.
Blockchain technology has emerged as a transformative tool for secure data sharing across decentralised systems, particularly in finance, healthcare, and governance. However, despite its promise, the widespread adoption of blockchain platforms remains constrained by unresolved security threats and architecture-specific vulnerabilities. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) that critically evaluates the security risks and countermeasures associated with blockchain-based data sharing models. The review focuses on three widely referenced platforms, Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric, and MedRec, chosen for their relevance to public, permissioned, and healthcare-oriented blockchain deployments, respectively. The review analyzed 30 peer-reviewed publications from 2018 to 2025 sourced from IEEE Xplore, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, and other digital libraries. Empirical insights from the reviewed literature indicate that Sybil attacks remain prevalent on public blockchains, although adaptive Proof-of-Stake protocols are reported to reduce their success rate considerably. Front-running and Miner Extractable Value–related behaviors are frequently observed in Ethereum-based decentralised finance ecosystems, often resulting in significant financial losses. Unauthorised access persists as a major concern, particularly for software wallets, which are commonly exposed to phishing and malware attacks. The findings underscore unique trade-offs across platforms: Ethereum supports transparency but is prone to transaction manipulation; Hyperledger ensures strong access control yet faces insider threat challenges; and MedRec enhances patient privacy but lacks robust mobile integration. This study provides a structured synthesis of existing threats, platform-level responses, and design trade-offs, offering guidance for stakeholders aiming to strengthen security in blockchain-based data-sharing infrastructures.
Godwin Mandinyenya, Vusumuzi Malele· International Journal of Inf...· 0 citations
While blockchain technology has the potential to become one of the enablers of distributed applications and autonomous organizations (DAOs) with its decentralized structure, practical implementations reveal the existence of power and resource concentration at various levels. This concentration raises serious security concerns regarding the core consensus mechanisms, which regulate block creation and the interaction between the nodes of blockchain, potentially preventing the realization of the technology’s full potential. To this end, in this paper, we analyze one of the most commonly deployed consensus protocols, namely Proof of Stake (PoS), from a security perspective. We demonstrate how PoS inadvertently encourages the concentration of power, which may cause some users to leave, thereby endangering blockchain security. Specifically, in PoS, nodes with higher stakes have a greater likelihood of being selected as block proposers, leading to power concentration among a small group of users. This situation increases the risk of collusion and compromise of the consensus mechanism. To address these issues, we propose and analyze an alternative incentive mechanism for PoS by utilizing theories on optimal taxation from behavioral economics. Our proposed model bases the block proposer selection process on a modified and relatively more balanced distribution. It offers preferential treatment to low-stake holders while also integrating a reputation mechanism to mitigate potential Sybil attacks encouraged by equitable rewards. Using a game-theoretic model, we demonstrate the optimal balance of incentives between earning potential and blockchain network sustainability for both high- and low-stake holders. We also conducted extensive performance analyses, including real data from Uniswap, which showed that our proposed mechanism can mitigate inequality and provide an appealing solution for keeping the users in the network to sustain the security of the consensus mechanisms and thus the secure and sustainable operation of blockchain applications.
Abdulhadi Sahin, K. Akkaya, S. Ganapati et al.· Distributed Ledger Technolog...· 0 citations
Nigeria, a leading natural gas producer in Africa, faces significant challenges in optimising its gas infrastructure to support efficient commercialisation, reduce resource wastage, and foster transparency in transactions. Current systems for custody transfer, contract enforcement, and payment reconciliation often suffer from inefficiencies, manual interventions, and lack of trust among stakeholders. This paper proposes a novel technical framework that leverages Blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) to address these challenges by digitalising the country's gas pipeline network.
The proposed framework deploys IoT-enabled smart sensors at key custody transfer points across the gas supply chain to monitor critical parameters such as gas flow rate, volume, temperature, and pressure in real time. These parameters are securely stored on a blockchain network, ensuring data immutability, transparency, and auditability. Smart contracts integrated into the blockchain enable automated execution of contractual terms, including the initiation of payment processes via Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems once predefined conditions—such as the transfer of an agreed gas volume—are met.
This system minimises delays, mitigates risks of data tampering, and eliminates disputes between producers, suppliers, off-takers, and consumers by providing a single source of truth. Furthermore, the framework supports smaller producers by enabling fair participation in the market and providing a mechanism to monetise flared gas. The paper outlines the technical architecture of the proposed solution, including blockchain consensus mechanisms, IoT device integration protocols, and cybersecurity safeguards tailored to the Nigerian context.
To validate the feasibility of this approach, the study examines key implementation considerations, including regulatory compliance, scalability, and integration with Nigeria's existing gas infrastructure. A comparative analysis with similar initiatives globally was conducted to highlight best practices and lessons learned. By demonstrating the potential for enhanced efficiency, accountability, and economic growth, this paper provides a robust pathway for transforming Nigeria's gas sector through advanced digital technologies.
T. Folorunso, W. Sanusi, H. Afia· SPE Nigeria Annual Internati...· 0 citations
The increasing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in smart cities creates several challenges of trust management, resource allocation, and secure offloading. This paper introduces BTM-IoT, a blockchain-based trust management solution to improve the multi-access IoT offloading networks in urban areas. The proposed framework employs a hybrid consensus system that combines Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) with Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) to make offloading decisions efficiently and securely while keeping the latency and throughput low. A trust-aware offloading optimization model is proposed, which combines the direct and indirect trust evaluation to increase the accuracy of the decisions and attack resistance. Our extensive experiments show that the average reduction in energy consumption of BTM-IoT is 31% over the baseline models, whereas the average reduction in task completion time comes to 27%, and the average improvement in attack detection accuracy is 43%. Further, scalability tests show that it takes only 26% longer to complete when scaling up from 50 to 500 devices, a significant improvement over traditional method. It also provides optimal use of resources, such as CPU, memory, and bandwidth, while delivering an average of 20% improvement in efficiency. Even when analyzed from the overhead of the blockchain, it is light on the IOT device, requiring 0.5 MB of storage and 2% CPU usage. The study results confirm the energy efficiency, scalability and security of BTM-IoT as a solution for multi-access IoT offloading in smart city infrastructures.
Bader Alhasson· Electronics· 0 citations
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