Blockchain and IoT: The Dynamic Duo

In a world where technologies are maturing extremely fast, two of the technologies – Blockchain and IoT are gaining popularity exponentially. To be frank, both of these technologies are really changing the way the world works right now.

Take IoT for example; it’s practically a part of our daily lives right now. On the other hand, blockchain technology happens to gain popularity among enterprises. However, it’s also slowly getting into our daily lives through all the dApps.

In reality, both these technologies go hand in hand and create a solid technological duo. That’s why we’ll be covering everything related to blockchain and IoT in this guide.

What Is The Internet Of Things (IoT)?

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Well, let’s start with the basics. If you search it on the web, you’ll probably see a lot of technical answers, which really won’t help you out much. So, here’s a short, yet non-complicated definition of IoT –

“It’s a system or interconnection of everyday computing devices and objects via the internet, which enables them to receive and send data.”

What? Still not clear? Let me explain it more simply. Well, now all the people in the world use a mobile, desktop, laptops, or a tablet on a regular basis. Furthermore, it’s safe to say that these devices are connected to the internet.

You see, in reality, the internet really is a game-changer. Just imagine all the benefits you are getting just on the internet. In the old days, you could only call and message using the phone.

However, now you can play games, read a book, listen to music, watch a movie, etc. all on the internet! So, with the introduction of smart devices, almost everything is within your reach.

However, with technological advancements, now, all the devices connected to the internet can connect with each other without needing a human medium. That means your mobile can talk to your desktop or your smart home devices.

Furthermore, many companies can now get access to their respective industries data automatically without manually collecting them. Moreover, they can even control them from online.

The concept of the internet of things is a bit broad, and a lot of things fall under it. Additionally, the possibilities are huge and making our lives easier than ever.

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Why Does IoT Matter?

Well, the issue is, why does the internet of things matter in the first place?  If any device is connected to the internet, then it can send and receive information from the internet. Thus, this ability in the devices makes it smart.

For example, now you can use your smartphones to play games. Moreover, if you want, you can use it to play any kind of mobile games on your device. But it doesn’t mean that your smartphone came with all the games in the world.

In reality, it’s just connecting to the internet and letting you get access to it. All the games that you are playing are stored somewhere else. Thus, to be smart, your smartphone doesn’t need to have a supercomputer or massive storage.

It can just receive the information from connecting to any supercomputer located somewhere in the world! Pretty neat, huh?

Based on the devices, you can split them into three different categories. These are –

• IoT that can collect any information and send it to other devices.
• IoT that can receive any information and can analyze or function based on it.
• Devices that can do both of the things.

In reality, all of the three types can benefit if they can interact with one another.

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Collection of information and sending it out

Usually, here, the IoT devices can monitor or pick up information from their environments such as motions, temperature, air quality, moisture, and even light! After collecting the info, it can directly send it to use over the internet, and we can analyze them further.

For example, a farmer can collect the information of how much moisture the soil has before watering the crops. Based on the moisture level, he can then water the crops when needed. If he can’t access how much moisture the soil has, he might water it little or more.

As a result, the crops could die and would end up with a complete waste of resources. But with the help from the IoT devices, there would be no chance of ever ruing the crops.

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Receiving information and then functioning based on that

It’s not a new strategy. We see many machines receiving information and functioning based on that on a daily basis. For example, when you dial a number on your phone and press the call button, it starts the calling process based on your command. Or it could be you starting your car with the key and your car getting the command and starting the engine.

However, IoT devices can receive information from far away and then act on it. Maybe you are using your phone to access your homes surveillance camera feed. Furthermore, you can also let the 3D printer know what you want it to print, and then it starts to print it.

So, you see these devices also make our lives easier than ever.

Doing everything on their own

With the revolution of the IoT devices now it can do both of the above. These devices can collect information, send it, then analyze it and act on it. Let me explain it with a basic example.

Let’s say the farmer is using this technology to monitor and manage the farming. Here, the IoT devices can first collect the information from the soil, and instead of sending it to the farmer, it can send it to the irrigation system.

Moreover, the irrigation system then can automatically turn on if the crops need to get watered. And it doesn’t then it would not turn on. In reality, you can also take it up a notch.

Here, the IoT devices can connect to the internet and learn about the weather forecast. If there’s going to be rain, then it won’t water the crops because the rain will do it. However, if the IoT device didn’t have this information watering it when needed and getting rain right after that would cause the crops to die.

So, you see with the connection to the internet; the device can really make it much easier for the farmer.

And this is just one example, just think what it can do in our day to day lives!

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What Are The Components Of IoT?

Every kind of IoT system comes with some basic components. Without them, the system would not work so much efficiently. All of the components have different kinds of duties, and all of the components communicate with one another and create a working ecosystem.

So, to help you learn more about it. Let’s see what they are, shall we?

1. Devices or Sensors

Let’s start with devices or sensors that happen to collect information from the environment. Furthermore, it could be just a simple weather reading or even a video clip.

In any case, there could be a single sensor or a collection of sensors within a device. All of them could pick up different information from the environment they are exposed to.

Anyhow, in the starting layer, it will collect the information needed and then send it to the next layer. Mostly they have different applications such as –

• Light intensity detection
• Temperature detections
• Moisture level or humidity monitoring
• Proximity detection
• Pressure detection
• Location detection

There are many more applications than these. However, I only mentioned some of them to help you better understand what they really do.

2. Connectivity

In the next segment, we get connectivity. It means that the data that the sensors just collected would get send to the clouds. But how would it get there? In reality, these sensors or devices need a medium to get connected to the cloud.

Typically many of the modern devices actually use a low power network, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or satellite to connect to the cloud.

Using these devices, the sensors can directly relay the information they just collected. Needless to say, each of these methods come with their very own pros and cons. For example, there’s always a tradeoff such as bandwidth, range, or power consumption.

No matter what type of connectivity it is, it will get the task done one way or another. Usually, low power connected devices within the IoT industry is very popular nowadays. It consumes less power and saves up a lot of battery life. Moreover, they are also quite efficient.

3. Gateway

Usually, the gateway mainly manages the data traffic between the protocols and networks. It’s bidirectional, of course. In reality, it also ensures the full interoperability within the sensors and translates all the network protocols for the devices.

Sometimes the gateway could preprocess the information collected from all the sensors and devices before the transmission. Furthermore, the processing of that information can be necessary because of the TCP/IP protocol.

So, if the gateway doesn’t follow the TCP/IP protocols, the transmission can simply not be established.

Another great aspect of this mid-level component is that it can offer security for the data. Mainly IoT gateways have encryption methods to mask the data from being tampered with.

So, without a good gateway, your IoT system won’t be able to connect to the cloud.

4. Cloud

Next comes the cloud. It’s a very important part of the IoT system. What the cloud does here is that it offers tools to manage all the massive data from the sensors. Once it gets all the information, you would need to sort it out, process and store.

This could take months without a proper tool and can result in loss without good storage space. And this is exactly what the cloud offers. Any company with a right to see the data can easily go into the cloud and see it.

Thus, it helps to make a better decision for the concerned authorities. The IoT cloud is nothing but a collection of high performing devices that can process billions of information and manage the traffics to offer a seamless connection.

Usually, there could be millions of sensors, gateways, storage facilities connected to it. Thus, with the help from all of the information, any enterprises can make a solid business plan.

5. Data Processing

It’s another component of the IoT system that helps to process the data as you need. In reality, it could be a straightforward task, such as just check all the moisture readings from the sensors.

However, it could also be identifying object just from a surveillance feed. In that case, it would be much more complex to handle and would need processing to simplify it for the next stage.

Like to give the user an estimation of how much moisture is in the soil or alerting when an unidentified object is found in the surveillance footage.

6. Analytics

Analytic is really important when it comes to IoT system. Basically, here, the processed data are analyzed to come with new data. Usually, this component helps to manage and monitor a system. For example, farmers could use the IoT system and the analytics to know whether the soil needs water or not.

Usually, there’s always a desired data output from any kind of industry. If the IoT system picks up any irregularities, then it can easily convey them for fast actions.

In reality, these analytic features help enterprises to stop any unwanted situation. And as most of the IoT system comes with real-time analytics, it becomes much more efficient to manage any kind of industry.

Sometimes the analytics are very efficient in predicting the marketplace. Thus, it helps many enterprises to know how to change their business model and get more revenue. Information is the most significant factor here, and without a proper machine analyzation, it could take days to predict any unusual data by humans.

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7. User Interface

The user interface is practically the topmost layer of the IoT system. After assembling every single information, sending it, processing it, analyzing it, the system would let the user see what the output is.

For example, a company needs to maintain 30° Celsius in their storage space. However, if it gets lower or higher than that the company might not notice it. As a result, the products might get ruined.

In this regard, the IoT system can collect the temperature information, and after processing it, could notify the user of the increased and decreased temp.

There are many ways of alerting, such as notification, text, email, sirens, etc. Also, with the user interface, you can check on the system anytime.

In many cases, the IoT system lets the user perform other actions form the UI. So, if the user sees that the temperature is rising, then he can adjust it right from the UI.

In many cases, the IoT can also perform the same tasks without any human interactions. In the storage scenario, the IoT system can automatically adjust the temperature when it sees that it’s not optimum.

It does promote a lot of efficiencies this way.

What Are The Issues Of IoT?

In reality, IoT is a wonderful technology. But as the technology isn’t that much matured yet. So, as it turns out, the infrastructure isn’t entirely safe. There are many security challenges to overcome, and everything starts with the manufacturing process of the system.

There are many cases of IoT security risks back in the days. In 2016, the IoT manufacturer didn’t make the infrastructure robust; as a result, many of the passwords used were vulnerable.

Thus, hackers used botnet attacks to take down the security system and caused massive issues. Private information got stolen, and many lost their access to their data.

So, you see even though it may seem that IoT architecture can go on its own. But in turn, it just can’t. The security loopholes and limitations highlight the threats in every way.

Now, let’s take a look at the IoT security issues below –

• Lack of Compliance in the Manufacturing Stage

On a daily basis, new IoT devices are coming out in the world. However, many of them have major security issues. But why is that? Well, it’s mostly because most of the manufacturing companies don’t spend a good amount of time on the security layer.

For example, many fitness trackers remain visible even after being connected with Bluetooth. Or one can easily access fingerprint padlocks if they have the same MAC address as the IoT device.

You see these issues can cause major problems. However, instead of fixing these devices before rolling out, manufacturers don’t really do anything about it.

Thus, the security issues of these devices keep on pilling up. Moreover, instead of focusing on security, they mainly focus on design aesthetics.

As a result, many consumers face different issues with their personal information and property.

• Not Enough Updates or Testing Before Launch

There are 23 billion IoT devices in the world right now. And it will increase to 60 billion by 2025. Even though the sheer amount of IoT devices is overwhelming, still there aren’t enough testing phases before rolling them out.

Not to mention the lack of updates. In many cases, updates in the software can fix any underlying issue after launch. However, most of the updates take too much time to patch up security issues. Furthermore, in many cases, some devices don’t even get any updates at all.

So, a customer could buy an IoT device thinking that it’s safe. But over time the system would become obsolete. So, hackers can easily get into the system and cause havoc.

This is all due to the lack of proper testing in the early phases and later not being fast enough to help their consumers get full proof security.

• Little or Zero User Awareness and Knowledge about IoT Devices

This issue is basically the lack of knowledge from the user ends side. Over the years, many people learned how to spot phishing or spam emails. Moreover, now they know how to secure their passwords and be careful of bad websites.

However, the IoT is fairly a different technology. Thus, many people don’t fully understand it yet. Even though most of the security flaws come from the manufacturers, but the lack of proper knowledge puts everyone at risk.

In reality, tricking humans is the easiest way to get access. Everyone overlooks this major security threat where the party manipulates another party to gain access to a network.

So, without proper education about how to maintain security IoT security issues will keep on rising. Not only the homeowners but the enterprises are also at massive risk at this point.

• Security Holes in the Device Updates

Another major IoT issues the security holes that come with device updates. As you already know that the software the manufacturer offers isn’t always the perfect one. Even though they used the latest edition of that software still, other vulnerabilities would come out eventually.

In reality, to keep up with the game, the software team dispatches an update without properly checking everything at once. Yes, getting updates fast is really great. However, if the update causes more issue because of an unstable update, the fast time won’t help, would it?

On the other hand, even if the update doesn’t come with any loopholes, it’s still not 100% secured. When you are updating your device, the device will send all its information as a backup to the cloud.

If the pathway isn’t encrypted along with the files, the hacker could hack into the system and steal all the information.

• No Physical Security Processes

Okay, so we talked about software issues or network security issues. But what about the physical security issues? An IoT device can not only be hacked through the internet but also through physical tampering.

In many cases, IoT devices can work autonomously and doesn’t really need any user to function properly. However, these need to have full physical security form any outer threats.

Some may be located in a secluded place for a long amount of time. And if anyone can tamper with them from outside, there would be no guarantees to what information he may get.

Instead of manufacturing low-cost IoT devices that are fragile, the manufacturers need to focus more on physical robustness. In reality, this is a seriously challenging task with all the counterfeit products lurking around.

• Vulnerable To DDoS Attacks

Who doesn’t know about the DDoS attacks? Many enterprises fall prey to this utterly abusive attacks that take down their whole network space within a few minutes. In reality, the hackers target a specific network and start to spam the network with traffic within a short amount of time.

And due to the increased surge in traffic, the bandwidth gets occupied fast, and the system crashes. Now that many people have added security measures to deal with these issues, IoT devices are still lagging.

The IoT devices are much more vulnerable and prone to DDoS attacks often. The hackers can easily find out vulnerable IoT devices in a network and attack them, causing the whole network to crash down.

Thus, the IoT sector is in dire need of a solution to fight against these kinds of attacks.

• Predictable Default Passwords

Another great issue is the default passwords that the IoT devices come with. Usually, many IoT manufacturers roll out devices with the same default password. Not to mention they are not very selective in choosing that password either.

As a result, it becomes really easy for hackers to guess them and hack into the system of the users.

In reality, the company should let know their consumers to change the password as soon as they get it. However, they don’t do it, and many times, hackers take advantage of that negligence. Furthermore, they all keep using the same “admin” as the username for almost every kind of IoT devices.

If they aren’t going to be selective about it right from the manufacturing factory or even warn the consumers, the hacks will keep on happening.

• Lack of Resistance against Botnet Attacks

IoT devices are extremely vulnerable to malware attacks. Usually, they don’t come with all the security measures that computers do. In reality, a single infected device can’t really do much. However, if hundreds of them get in the way, then they can do a lot of damage.

In reality, the hacker would infect bots with malware and send them to all the vulnerable devices. After infecting them, he can easily control them to launch a collective attack against another DNS.

Mainly this leads to DDoS attacks. So, the hacker won’t need to have any additional force to launch the attack. But he can only use the infected devices to act as the rough one.

Furthermore, these collective botnets attacks are a serious threat to power grids, water treatment facilities, transport system, and many more.

• Industrial Eavesdropping and Espionage

Hackers not only use the data to ask for ransom, but they can also use it to get sensitive information. In a competitive world, all the industries would be willing to pay a large sum of money to get sensitive information from other enterprises.

As the IoT devices are vulnerable to that, it would be very easy to access them and spy without anyone even noticing. Furthermore, the hacker could spy on the enterprise and leak the information to other parties.

This can seriously hamper brand value and image that the enterprises created over the years. Sometimes these IoT devices are targeted by countries. As a result, many countries banned IoT devices to ensure full national safety.

Germany banned an IoT based doll that gave access to anyone within a 30-meter radius.

• Prone To Device High-Jacking

Ransomware is one of the worst malware out there right now. In reality, it does not steal your information, but it encrypts them and blocks the access. Moreover, after that, you’d have to pay some money to get back the blocked content.

However, as the malware is evolving, it’s targeting poorly secured IoT devices. At present, the cases of these affecting IoT devices are still rare, but it’s slowly becoming popular. It can lead to a lot of issues. Mainly high jacking, a car or home system is most crucial.

Home Invasions

It’s the scariest high jacking you could ever face. Now many people use smart home devices to control every single one of the functionalities at home. In reality, the hacker could access your home system and lock you down in it unless you pay the money.

Or they could even lock you out of it unless you pay the fee within a short amount of time.

High Jacking Vehicle

Smart cars are awfully popular now. Mainly self-driving cars that won’t need any driver to get you where you want to go. However, these depend solely on IoT devices. If the hacker can get access to it, he can stop your car from working.

Moreover, he can also kidnap you while you are in the car as he will be in the sole control of your car. These are just a few of the examples of lethal crimes the hackers can do.

• Lacks Data Integrity

As you know by now, the IoT devices always have data transmissions. Mainly the devices are always working collecting information, processing it, sending it back and forth. Sometimes some IoT devices can send the information to the cloud without ever encrypting it.

As a result, the hacker can easily get access to it and use it to their own benefit. Not to mention, he/she can tamper with the cloud data and send out false information to the user.

In reality, a common scenario would be the healthcare industry. If it gets access to the healthcare data, it can tamper it and create false information that can cost lives.

Furthermore, what if the hacker gets access to a pacemaker or other machine that helps patients to live? The hackers can then put the patient’s life on the line to get money.

• Rogue IoT Devices

What does a rogue IoT device mean? Well, due to the increase of counterfeit products, there are also a massive number of counterfeit IoT devices as well. In reality, these devices are replacing the original ones and getting installed in officer or homes.

Once they get access to the network, they can easily corrupt every single device connected dot that network. Why are they increasing?

Well, mainly because there isn’t any proper channel for provenance. Thus, the counterfeit businesses use this opportunity to gain access to a system and crash it for good.

Or worse highjack it for money. You can’t even imagine the damage it can make to any industry if one counterfeit device gets into the system.

• Crypto-Mining with IoT Bots

Yes, now hackers target IoT devices to mine cryptocurrencies. IoT devices come with GPU and CPU resources, and hacking them would mean getting ahold of all the computing power.

As a result, you IoT devices won’t work properly and slowly it will break down. In reality, crypto mining takes a huge lot of toll on any device.

So, if somehow your device gets infected with crypto bots, it will start to take the computing power and slowly break it down. Even though these bots won’t steal information from your device, but it will make sure that your device is not usable.

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• Data Privacy Issues

The IoT devices deal with a lot of our information on a daily basis. So, in the end, these are a massive source of information of any user. In reality, many companies buy user information and evade our privacy to predict behaviors.

Selling this information to other companies is a direct hit to our privacy rights. Not to mention, the companies exploiting our information to gain more business is truly horrible.

However, as many IoT devices don’t heed to our privacy concerns, this information is getting out every day.

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• Unable To Detect Minor Hacks

Not every single data hacks start with noticeable changes. In reality, most of the hackers hack minor things in the background that goes unnoticeable. Usually, these hacks aren’t that much harmful yet and can be stopped if noticed on the early stage.

However, most of the micro breaches in IoT system gets unnoticed. Furthermore, the system is just not capable of detecting these small changes or malware.

As a result, it slowly builds up and finally launches a massive attack.

• Risky Automation Process

Well, automation processes are really great. They make our lives much easier. However, the use of automation comes with its fair share of risks. But using only a single autonomous system to manage thousands of data isn’t a great option.

A single change in the code could bring down the whole industry. Or if a hacker gets into the system and changed just one simple number, it can affect the thousands of data the system is maintaining.

So, it might seem like a great option, but it’s not.

• Untrustworthy Communication Gateway

The communication gateway is one of the vital components of any IoT system. However, in many cases, these gateway remains open, and many hackers get access to it. If the gateway doesn’t come with any encryption protocol, it can easily leak information to others.

Without a private channel of communication, there’s no way an IoT network would be 100% secured.

How Blockchain Can Help IoT

Well, centralized servers are powering the IoT industry for now on. But when it comes to long term solution, the centralized systems won’t be enough. As a matter of fact, any kind of centralized servers isn’t good enough for future IoT devices given all of the security vulnerabilities.

So, if the IoT devices want to reach their full potential, they would have to move away from the centralized servers once and for all.

Blockchain in IoT will help establish the trustless and connectivity that everyone wants without any issues. As all the nodes in the blockchain and internet of things will operate without any centralized servers, so it’s more efficient.

With the help of blockchain in IoT, many manufacturers can finally get a secured and affordable investment. But before we see how the blockchain for enterprise can change the IoT sectors, let’s see what features it can use in the process.

• Trustless

With blockchain in IoT, any party can get the true form of trustless connectivity. Usually, with blockchain in IoT, the devices will directly use the network to verify any data. Moreover, it can use the smart contracts to automate any processes within the blockchain and internet of things platform.

However, as you know, there would be no centralized server or any third party provider in control of your data within the blockchain in IoT system.

• Autonomy

Blockchain in IoT actually helps the smart devices to monitor itself and work independently. Furthermore, with the help of self-executing logic of blockchain, they can operate any kind of tasks in the blockchain and internet of things system.

However, the manufacturer needs to specify the logic before they roll out the product for any specific task. In the meantime, they can also offer a UI for the users to change the parameters of the logic in an easy way.

In reality, this can easily streamline a lot of work and will directly get rid of the middleman without any issues of blockchain in IoT.

• Cost Friendly

Well, another great feature of the blockchain in IoT will cost-friendly environment it presents. Usually, the security measured for IoT makes this tech more costly than other devices. But with blockchain in IoT, there would be no need for an additional safety net.

Blockchain and the internet of things can manage everything on its own without any issues. In reality, the service providers have a monopoly in the IoT industry, along with supporting devices.

But with blockchain in IoT, the tech would be more accessible to regular consumers. Also, there won’t be any damage cost issue in the blockchain and internet of things system.

Thus, it saves up a lot of money in the end.

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Blockchain and IoT: Possible Use Cases

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• High Data Security

According to a recent survey, over 81% of enterprises and government, corporations believe that an IoT disaster will affect them in the upcoming two years. However, only 28% of them are doing anything about it. Here, I mean precautionary measures that the companies should take in order to mitigate the IoT risks.

But as you can say, not even one-third of the enterprises seek any IoT risk mitigations services. The result?

Well, it’s not definite, but we’ll eventually have no means of protecting ourselves from the outer threats.

Thus, blockchain and IoT use cases can really come in handy here. With IoT blockchain use cases, the enterprise will get a full proof secured network that can offer the facilities no third-party provider can offer. IoT blockchain use cases can offer the verification process based on consensus algorithms to make the data entry fairer.

Another great fact would be the immutability of the blockchain and IoT system. When an individual tries to manipulate the blockchain IoT network, it will immediately detect the issue.

Thus, blockchain and IoT can be a great solution to all security problems.

• Stronger Data Validation Process

The popularity and demand for Big Data are rising tremendously on the marketplaces. In reality, it’s quite evident that by the year 2023, it will become a $100+ billion industry. But why is that? Well, data is becoming a huge part of our lives and is the most desired product of all time.

Moreover, we get so many data from all the IoT devices, computers, etc. However, we don’t have any good technology to really verify whether the data is valid or not.

This creates a huge dilemma in the growing industry. However, with blockchain and IoT system on the rise, it would be finally possible. Thus, you can depend on the blockchain, and IoT uses cases to help verify all the information before adding it up to the ledger.

As you already know, data verification is a part of blockchain IoT. And all the nodes use different methods to validate all the information to exclude any false information getting a place on the ledger.

By doing it, the IoT blockchain use cases can simply put an end to data verification issues and help grow the Big Data industry as well.

• Data Anonymity for Extra Privacy

Internet of things is not only for enterprise users but also for our daily lives as well. In reality, almost everything of a smart home is equipped with this tech. However, with this much intimate exposure to these devices, our privacies are in huge jeopardy.

In many cases, these devices can pass our private information to the outside world. Thus, we are no longer in full control of our own sensitive information. It could cause a catastrophic issue, and users will soon lose their faith in any big brands.

However, blockchain and IoT use cases can help out here as well. As you already know, the distributed ledger technology is fully capable of handling this mess. Furthermore, blockchain IoT offers full anonymity.

It would help the users take back what’s theirs only and not allow even a single prying eye into their lives. Moreover, enterprises can also benefit from IoT blockchain use cases. With blockchain and IoT, they can get more popularity and exposure.

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• Firewall Against DDoS Attacks

Remember how the DDoS attack can cripple an enterprise network? Many enterprises fall prey to this utterly abusive attacks that take down their whole network space within a few minutes.

The IoT devices are much more vulnerable and prone to DDoS attacks often. The hackers can easily find out vulnerable IoT devices in a network and attack them, causing the whole network to crash down.

But with the help from blockchain and IoT use cases, all of the DDoS attacks can be solved. In reality, blockchain IoT works like a firewall for all kinds of malware attacks. But with DDoS, it would have to take it up a notch.

Any blockchain and IoT system can detect spam traffic when it all begins. However, as the bandwidth decreased, the owner needs to get more bandwidth to make up for the loss. Here, IoT blockchain use cases can lend bandwidth from the distributed nodes on the network to prevent the attack.

• End-To-End Visibility

A full transparent network is a trusted network. In reality, the issue with our typical centralized servers is the lack of full transparency. Thus, many are skeptical of whether they can trust the system or not. Furthermore, it’s more common within the enterprises too.

However, with the help of blockchain and IoT use cases, now no one would face this dilemma. The blockchain IoT is capable of offering full-time end-to-end visibility.

As mostly the enterprises need a private channel as well, IoT blockchain use cases can offer private channels between only two parties.

Furthermore, IoT devices can use this channel to communicate with each other without any issues. Thus, the blockchain and IoT system changes the risks of data hacks with this method.

• Real-Time Tracking

A major component of IoT is the sensors and RFID tags. With these, anyone can track objects to ensure their full authenticity. In reality, due to the lack of a proper tracking system, many manufacturers face issues in trade.

Not only trade but also the supply chain is in dire need of real-time tracking. In reality, IoT devices are capable of handling all the tracking, but they need risk management as well.

So, with the help of IoT blockchain use cases, any company can now track their goods without any issues. More so, they can do it in real-time! Blockchain IoT platforms can offer the correct location of any goods without any interference.

Thus, the blockchain and IoT devices remain safe, and there’s no case of counterfeit products. As you can see, it’s all because of blockchain and IoT use cases.

• Identity for IoT Devices

Well, there’s another major issue in the IoT industry, and it’s the lack of identity for the IoT devices. Typically there’s no way to check the authenticity of the device. Furthermore, simple company status or when it was created isn’t even available for verification.

Moreover, where the IoT device is updating the software or does it have an issuer signature or not, is something that users should know.

But with the help of blockchain and IoT use cases now they can know for sure. In reality, the blockchain and IoT system will cryptographically store the identity information for every IoT device. Not to mention, the security layer will offer full protection in the blockchain IoT system. Now the devices would be more authentic, leaving no scope for scammers.

Thus, IoT blockchain use cases can surely change the typical ways for good.

• More Access Control

All of the connected devices can highly benefit from the blockchain and IoT system. Furthermore, the IoT blockchain use cases can fully offer access control for both virtual and physical resources. Moreover, the system is also capable of storing the record of who access what kind of resources all the time.

For example, the blockchain and IoT enabled smart lock can store the information of who entered the building at that time. It will also store any kind of attempts of entry as well. Furthermore, if the key does not match, it will stop any attempts of accessing it.

The same goes for file sharing among IoT devices as well. Typically, it won’t let other devices to access the data if they aren’t authorized to do it. With the help of blockchain and IoT use cases, you can even specify individuals and their level of access.

• Better Compliances

In reality, there are so many scenarios involving processes where you need to know if they are properly complied with. Additionally, this goes mainly for processes involving multiple parties.

Anyhow you can get a better compliance experience with the help of smart contracts in the blockchain and IoT system.

Let’s say; a patient needs to share the medical history with relevant doctors to better examine the issue. However, the patient also wants to retain privacy and does not permit any additional information for a selected amount of time.

With IoT blockchain use cases, it’s fully possible. Moreover, the blockchain and IoT use cases can foresee whether particular compliance is being met or not. Furthermore, the blockchain and IoT system can also stop any further compliances if previous compliances aren’t’ met properly.

• Better Quality Control in IoT Manufacturing

The manufacturing stage is quite crucial for IoT devices. In reality, there’s no quality control or whatsoever. You see these issues can cause major problems. However, instead of fixing these devices before rolling out, manufacturers don’t really do anything about it.

Thus, the security issues of these devices keep on pilling up. Moreover, instead of focusing on security, they mainly focus on design aesthetics.

But with the help of blockchain and IoT use cases, the scenario will change entirely. With the blockchain and IoT system, the companies can manage the quality of every single device they produce. Not only for the physical security but in the software security as well.

In reality, the enormous amount of devices can become quite overwhelming to perfect. But with blockchain and IoT systems help, they can easily pull it off.

• Stronger Cloud Management

Cloud is a huge part of the IoT architecture. Mainly the devices are always working collecting information, processing it, sending it back and forth. Sometimes some IoT devices can send the information to the cloud without ever encrypting it.

As a result, the hacker can easily get access to it and use it to their own benefit. In reality, even the cloud isn’t fully capable of handling all the security issues. As there are many networks on the same cloud, sometimes data leaks occur.

But with blockchain and IoT solution, you can easily protect the cloud more efficiently. More importantly, before any of the IoT devices send the data to the cloud, they would all get cryptographically encrypted in the blockchain and IoT network.

Thus, with blockchain in IoT, the cloud would be safer than ever. There would be no leaks, and no one would be able to hack their way into the network.

So, it’s ultimately a great solution with the help of blockchain technology and internet of things.

• Secure Communication Gateway

In many cases, the gateway remains open, and many hackers get access to it. If the gateway doesn’t come with any encryption protocol, it can easily leak information to others. Thus, it’s utterly important for a secure gateway for the IoT devices as well.

For example, let’s say your thermostat is uploading the exact temperature of your house to the cloud. If the hacker gets access to it, it can change the temperature value of your house without any issues.

But how can the gateway be secured? Well, the blockchain and IoT system is fully capable of offering a private communication channel gateway for the industry. Furthermore, the blockchain and internet of things channel are fully out of the hands of any kind of interference.

As a result, no one can intercept in the middle of a communication channel on the blockchain and IoT network.

• Better Automation Process

The use of automation comes with its fair share of risks. But using only a single autonomous system to manage thousands of data isn’t a great option.

A single change in the code could bring down the whole industry. Or if a hacker gets into the system and changes just one simple number, it can affect the thousands of data the system is maintaining.

So, you would need blockchain and IoT to manage the automation process so that no one can get access to it. In reality, the process is usually linked with a chain of other works that feed off each other. Moreover, to make the perfect analysis and taking action accordingly is necessary for the automation processes.

But if anyone highjacks the results, the process would break down. As the blockchain and internet of things platform are immutable, it would prevent anyone from changing the results.

Thus, blockchain and IoT will prevent any risky automation processes for good.

• Encryption for Multifactor Authorization

Do you know how our passwords aren’t enough to offer full security anymore? With the default password choices from the manufacturer, it became relatively easy for any hacker just to guess it and get access.

In reality, many don’t use multifactor passwords or authorization methods. So, it becomes way more prone to hacks. However, with blockchain and IoT network, you will get multifactor authorizations that may include biometric identities as well.

But still, it’s not enough. That’s why all the multifactor authorization keys would also be encrypted and stored in the blockchain and internet of things system.

This is exactly how the blockchain and IoT system works to offer full security.

• Collaborative Environment for Shared Economy

The sharing economy is one of the rising industries at present. Furthermore, it’s an economy where peer-to-peer sharing of services, goods, or any other kind of resources happen. Needless to say, almost all the shared economy industry heavily depends on the credibility of the IoT devices.

In this case, blockchain and IoT system is the perfect catch. Coupling both the system would give the IoT devices the boost it needs. Also, with the help of the blockchain and internet of things, you can even create a collaborative environment as well.

Just imagine a scenario where you can get access to all the sharing industries from one platform. Not only it would be highly secured, but it would also increase revenues.

So, I have to say blockchain and IoT make the perfect pair for this industry as well.

Suitable Enterprise Blockchain for IoT

These top three enterprise blockchain platforms are best suited for all kind of blockchain IoT companies.

• Ethereum Enterprise

Ethereum Enterprise would be the most mature enterprise blockchain platforms out there. Typically it’s a public platform, but for enterprises, the platform includes special private channels.

In reality, you can use Ethereum in almost every kind of industry, including IoT. So, for the IoT and blockchain platform, Ethereum Enterprise would be a perfect candidate.

Enterprise Ethereum is actually an open platform and not a product for the blockchain IoT companies. All blockchain IoT companies would want proper authentication and more controlled access. And enterprise Ethereum offers just that.

Usually, in typical blockchain IoT companies, they would have to deal with governmental issues, but EE is fully capable of supporting in that manner. Moreover, constant updates are just perfect for IoT and blockchain solutions.

However, you need to know that even though Enterprise Ethereum is a lot popular, it’s a bit low on the scaling. But the enormous amount of support and dApps should make up for the low transaction rates.

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• Hyperledger

Hyperledger is actually one of the major enterprise blockchain platforms on the market right now. As the platform is suitable for a wide range of industries, it’s perfect for IoT and blockchain as well. At present Hyperledger comes with ten different projects with each being suitable for different purposes.

Any blockchain IoT company can use their technology as they are open source and promote a collaborative environment. Furthermore, for blockchain IoT companies, they can offer a permissioned blockchain system that would only allow authorized persons and no one else.

Not to mention the high scalability is just perfect for any blockchain IoT companies on the market. Most importantly, the need to know data availability will be a massive boost for the IoT and blockchain platform.

To help the blockchain IoT companies, they also offer rich query languages that help to understand the ledger better. Anyhow the modular structure is the very best option for IoT and blockchain because it offers plug and plays services.

Other than all of these, the platform is super secured.

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• Quorum

Quorum is another great enterprise blockchain best suited for blockchain and IoT companies. You will be pleased to know that the platform was developed for high-speed transactions and high-throughput. So, if blockchain and IoT companies want to get a faster platform, they should take a look at Quorum.

In reality, the lack of any heavy consensus algorithm on the network ensures the fast output of this platform. Furthermore, for blockchain IoT companies, Quorum offers node managing authority.

It will help the authority to approve nodes and make sure that the network stays private. Additionally, one of the best features of Quorum that the blockchain IoT companies would love is the private transaction.

Here, only the transacting persons can see their databases and no one else. Well, every blockchain IoT companies would need high-end performance, wouldn’t they? So, for that Quorum brings the ultimate game-changing technology that beats all others in the market.

Examples of Blockchain IoT at Work

• United States Department of Homeland Security

Let’s start with the fine example of the Department of Homeland Security. They are using blockchain and IoT to prove that the information from the broader surveillances is legit. In reality, the DHS believes that the typical IoT devices in the boarders aren’t enough to offer full disclosure around what happens.

Many adversaries could easily tamper with the data, and there would be no way of knowing. Moreover, it’s a matter of national security to ensure that everything caught from the IoT devices is 100% legit.

That’s why they are using IoT blockchain projects for provenance. Furthermore, they are working with Factom and already invested $199,000 for the development of the project.

What Factom is doing in this IoT blockchain example is to create a device identification for every IoT for preventing spoofing. And due to the nature of blockchain technology, it’s quite easy to achieve this wonderful blockchain and IoT solution.

• Maersk

Maersk is working with IBM to change the ways how the global supply chain works. For that, they are using blockchain and IoT, coupled together to have more transparency within the industry. In reality, this solution will promote secure and efficient trading in the supply chain industry.

Furthermore, it will also bring in more support for transparency and information sharing among the trading parties.

But how will they do it? Well, first of all, the platform will be blockchain-based, and they will use the IoT devices to connect every single process to it. In reality, you can do it with only IoT devices, but the limitations and security risks would be immense.

Thus, the platform will use blockchain to streamline and get rid of the limitations of typical supply chain processes. Moreover, this is one of the good IoT blockchain projects on supply chain right now.

This is really a great IoT blockchain example as it utilizes the strengths of both blockchain and IoT devices.

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• Pfizer, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen

Another great IoT blockchain example is the solution of MediLedger for healthcare. In the IoT blockchain projects, many pharmaceutical companies, as well as wholesalers, are taking part extensively.

Among them, Pfizer, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen are taking the lead. In reality, there happen to be more top players in the game. However, in the initial announcement, only the names of these companies were made.

The solution will use blockchain and IoT platform to track and secure every single drug being produced. In the world of counterfeits, it’s now necessary to see whether the drugs truly comes from authentic sources or not.

Another usage of this project is the chargeback solution for discounts. Usually, the pharmaceutical companies have different pricing points with group purchasing organizations (GPO) and wholesalers.

Sometimes due to a large amount of demand, the pharmaceuticals may offer discounts to GPOs. However, as the wholesaler take care of the distribution, it’s necessary for them to know about the discounts.

Thus, they can charge it back from the pharmaceuticals to get revenues. With help from this blockchain and IoT solution, they can easily do it with full transparency.

• Commonwealth Bank

Another great IoT blockchain example is the commonwealth banks blockchain IoT solution. In reality, commonwealth bank is using IoT blockchain projects to deal with two major issues – sharing assets and global trade.

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1. Sharing Assets

With the blockchain and IoT solution, the commonwealth bank is giving a customer to share assets and track them on the network. Moreover, they recently tried it out in a farming test where three farmers shared a single crop sprayer, and with the help of the system, they could decide how it should operate.

As everything was on the immutable network, no one can get ahold of the shared assets information and change it. Thus, it can be a wonderful solution for the growing shared economy industries.

2. Trade

Commonwealth Bank is also collaborating with five different Australian supply chain companies to promote transparent and secure trading facilities. For this, they are using blockchain and IoT together to track all the shipping process.

Furthermore, it can also track the manufacturing goods and what conditions they are in before making the trade.

Needleless to say, the blockchain and IoT solution does make it easier in global trade. Anyhow they already traded 17 metric tons of almond from Victoria to Australia. In reality, the test is a huge success, and the collaboration between shipping companies will continue further.

• Van Dorp

Another great IoT blockchain example would be the Van Dorp and Timeseries collaboration. Here, they are using IoT blockchain projects to maintain smart home devices. In reality, Van Dorp is a technical FM provider that manager more than 17,000 building.

In each of these homes, there are thousands of assets such as AC systems, lighting systems, or heating systems. Each of these systems needs proper maintenance, and without a transparent network, it becomes impossible to track an issue.

Moreover, it takes up an enormous amount of time, and as a result, the residences are inconvenienced.

However, with the help from blockchain and IoT solution, they can now track every single component of all the building they maintain. It not only increases their efficiency, but it also helps the residencies as well.

Furthermore, with added automation on the network, they know exactly what the issue is and which professionals can fix it.

• The Freshwater Trust

The Freshwater Trust is collaborating with IBM for tackling the issue of drought in California. Furthermore, the University of Colorado Boulder is also a member of the project. In reality, they want to manage the aquifers as they are in huge risk.

An aquifer is actually a layer of underground water-bearing rocks. Moreover, you can extract the underground water from these rocks and use it a pure source of water.

However, due to bad management, they are at serious risk points. But with the help from IoT blockchain projects, they can easily track the weather correlations and rainfall. And they would know exactly when and from where they can extract groundwater.

Not only that but the IoT sensors would store all the data on the blockchain and IoT system, and common users can track how much they used. Moreover, they can also buy the groundwater and trade it as a share.

Thus, it’s a great IoT blockchain example at work.

• Telstra

Telstra is a telecommunication company that is using IoT blockchain projects to secure all their IoT smart home devices. In reality, they are trialing blockchain and IoT solution to see whether it can really detect any tampering or security hacks.

For that, they created a hacking environment and tried to hack the networks connected to the IoT devices. It was a huge success as the network could detect any issues within a second. In reality, for the environment, they are using private networks as they promote the fastest output.

So, with the help from this IoT blockchain example, they can offer more security for smart home devices. However, they are still in the trialing phase and haven’t rolled out any public solutions yet. Thus, after more thorough experimentation with the IoT devices, they will roll them out for their customers.

• Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA)

Another great IoT blockchain example is the solution that the SEPA is using for securing power grids. SEPA is an organization that focuses on promoting clean energy using research, education, collaborations, and standards.

However, as the need for power generation increases, so does the complications. But to manage these complex operations, lots of IoT sensors, networks, and technologies are used. In reality, these IoT devices are highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

That’s why SEPA is using IoT blockchain projects to secure the ecosystem for life. Furthermore, the blockchain and IoT solution ensures that all the data of these sensors are valid. It also works as a firewall when it comes to cyber-attacks.

Thus, making the energy grid architecture as much solid as possible.  According to SEPA, achieving this level of security and efficiency isn’t possible with typical centralized systems.

• Brooklyn Library

Usually, in the public charging stations, your mobile devices are quite vulnerable. Many illicit people can easily get into mobile devices and hijack their phones. To stop this, Brooklyn Public Library is working on a great IoT blockchain example.

In reality, they are offering a great Smart mobile phone charging station backed by IoT blockchain projects. What this technology will do is to offer full security and convenience for the users without worrying about your device being hacked.

However, these users would have a direct connection to their library cards and would use it to get a pass in the library.

But as the service is totally free of charge, you may have to see a 15-30 second video or even complete a general Brooklyn Library survey.

This will help the library to offer better services and look into charges that you would like to make.

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• The Virgin Diamond

Well, another great IoT blockchain example would be the company called the Virgin Diamond. Here, the company is offering a total provenance of the diamonds coming directly from the mine. So, in a sense, you’ll be a getting a piece of perfectly unused diamond jewelry.

According to the company in the diamond industry, the buyer thinks that every single diamond they are buying is actually new. However, in truth, that’s not the case. Many diamonds are recycled, and there’s no way of knowing if anyone wore that diamond in the past or not.

But with the help from IoT blockchain projects, they can offer their customers full disclosure of its authenticity and past owners.

In reality, it can be great news for the customers that want to gift or get their hands on new diamonds.

• University of Nevada, Reno

The University of Nevada, Reno is collaborating with Filament for creating a blockchain and IoT based technology. In reality, the technology is designed to create road infrastructures and new standards for autonomous vehicles.

As of now, the hype for autonomous vehicles is rising exponentially. However, getting the concept ready isn’t easy work. Moreover, it’s not only about the card but whether the system inside it can be trusted.

Well, it needs to be fully capable of sensing any objects in the road and act accordingly. Not to mention, it needs to have proper security and privacy options. You definitely don’t want your smart car to be hijacked.

Thus, the university is collaborating to create a sustainable environment on blockchain and IoT to make sure that the network is full proof.

In reality, the IoT will sense and relay back the information, and the blockchain will store it in the immutable ledger. However, we would also need AIs in the mix, to make the adaptive decisions clearly.

• Kouvola Innovation

Kouvola Innovation is using blockchain and IoT solution to power the logistics industry. Well, the logistics industry is in dire need of a change. Moreover, due to the lack of proper management and tracing, many logistics bushiness is paying the price with revenue.

However, with the help from the blockchain and IoT technology, they can get a secure platform to manage operational data traffic.

In reality, the solution isn’t limited to only the company, but everyone is open to join and enjoy the benefits.

At present, the project seems to have Kouvola Innovation and five more parties in the mix. They are –

• Region Örebro County, Sweden
• Valga County Development Agency, Estonia
• Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
• Sensei LCC, Estonia
• Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Latvia

All of these companies have high expectations from blockchain and IoT innovations and are testing out the project to perfect it even more.

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• Apical

Can you ever imagine an IoT blockchain example for the palm oil industry? Well, the palm oil industry does deal a lot with sustainability and traceability issues. Thus, it makes it really hard to prove whether the palm oil is authentic or not.

However, with the new collaboration of Apical and other big names in the palm oil industry, the issues might come to an end. With the newly formed sustainability assurance and innovation alliance, the industry can definitely change.

At present, they are taking technological support from SAP. In fact, the Blockchain and IoT based platform would be able to track the palm oil production and offer security in the stored data.

As a result, the counterfeited products based on palm oils would reduce to drastically. We still don’t know any further features of this platform, but it’s still in the early phases.

It’ll probably take a bit longer to become a more mature technology.

• Aquai

Aquai is working with NetObjex to offer smart water system to its consumers. At present, they are working on IoT blockchain projects that can help them manufacture, develop, and even distribute water systems.

Furthermore, it will also help them identify any kind of catastrophic damages and leakages of water resources. In the fast-changing world with many industries producing toxic waste, clean water is slowly becoming quite scarce.

Additionally preventing these issues would be a great solution for both the commercial and residential properties.

What the Blockchain and IoT solution will do is to use their sensors to detect any kind of contamination or leakages in the purifying system. But with the help of the blockchain, they can protect that information and even pinpoint the exact location of the contamination.

Can it get any better than this?

It’s an innovation, and we are hoping for seeing more clean water solutions like this.

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EndNote – What’s The Future of IoT and Blockchain?

Blockchain and IoT are changing the world as we speak. They are not only dominating the industrial landscape but also our day to day lives as we know it. In reality, IoT and blockchain solely depend on the connectivity of the world.

In fact, both IoT and blockchain seem to have a lot in common. Both of the technologies are overly hyped with very few knowledge of what they do.

Not to mention the enormous amount of data both the technology can deal with. Thus, it’s crucial that enterprises keep on exploring IoT and blockchain for the betterment of the future.

Even though IoT did have some major setbacks, but with IoT and blockchain network, those setbacks will be long gone.

Through our guide, we talked about how the blockchain is great for IoT. But the truth is, IoT is also an excellent fit for blockchain as well. To get all the real-world information blockchain and easily use IoT devices.

In the end, we can only assume the best from both blockchain and IoT. However, we would have to see whether they can live up to the expectations or not.

*Disclaimer: The article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. Claims made in this article do not constitute investment advice and should not be taken as such. 101 Blockchains shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this article. Do your own research!