Cyber Security Webinar by Roland Kromes MSc - Modeling a low-power IoT architecture for Blockchain and Smart Contract applications

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https://tudelft.zoom.us/j/93459336716?pwd=VFk4N3dCQTF2TUlHYnBLejk0dFVPUT09

Meeting ID: 934 5933 6716

Passcode: 389654

Abstract 

Nowadays,  most IoT applications are based on a centralized system in which all of the system participants have to rely on a central entity. In such a system, data immutability, data traceability, and transparency cannot be provided.

Blockchain technology is an entirely decentralized system in which the third trusted party (central entity) is removed.  Contrarily to centralized systems, blockchain technology provides data immutability, traceability, and transparency.  Most modern blockchains also allow the deployment of smart contracts, which are digital programs that can be read by all participants and executed automatically according to an event on the blockchain.  These advantageous features of blockchain technology show a clear interest in the integration of IoT with blockchain technology.

The contribution's main objectives are the study of the integration possibilities of IoT with blockchain technology and the development of a model of dedicated low-power-consumption IoT hardware architecture that enables communication with multiple types of blockchain. The proposed blockchain APIs (Ethereum, Hyperledger Sawtooth) are written in C++. These APIs can create valid transactions.

The IoT architecture model's CPU is emulated with QEMU and the dedicated cryptographic hardware accelerators are modeled in SystemC-TLM high-level hardware description language. As QEMU and SystemC-TLM work on different time environments, they must be synchronized by a co-simulation platform. The CPU of the proposed IoT architecture executes a Linux Operating System, which runs blockchain APIs. These APIs cannot have direct access to the hardware accelerators.  In order to handle access to the hardware accelerators and the orchestration of dedicated power management, Linux Kernel device drivers were developed.

The results represent that a significant reduction of the overall energy consumption can be achieved when the elliptic curve point multiplication and hash operations are hardware accelerated.

Bio

I am Roland Kromes, a PhD candidate at the Université Côte d'Azur in the Electronics, Antennas and Telecommunications Laboratory (LEAT-CNRS).  In January, I will join the Cybersecurity group at Delft University of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher. 

I obtained my diploma in Electronics, Systems and Telecommunications with the specialty of embedded systems at the Université Côte d'Azur.  My thesis focuses on the possibilities of IoT integration with Blockchain technology and the modeling of a specific low power IoT architecture for Blockchain and Smart Contract applications. This thesis is part of the Smart IoT for Mobility multidisciplinary project (ANR-National Agency for Research) in which I could also work on acceptability issues of Blockchain technology with fellow management researchers.

My research interests: Blockchain, IoT, applied cryptography, secure data sharing.