Security Services Using Blockchains: A State of the Art Survey (1810.08735v1)

Abstract: This article surveys blockchain-based approaches for several security services. These services include authentication, confidentiality, privacy, and access control list (ACL), data and resource provenance, and integrity assurance. All these services are critical for the current distributed applications, especially due to the large amount of data being processed over the networks and the use of cloud computing. Authentication ensures that the user is who he/she claims to be. Confidentiality guarantees that data cannot be read by unauthorized users. Privacy provides the users the ability to control who can access their data. Provenance allows an efficient tracking of the data and resources along with their ownership and utilization over the network. Integrity helps in verifying that the data has not been modified or altered. These services are currently managed by centralized controllers, for example, a certificate authority. Therefore, the services are prone to attacks on the centralized controller. On the other hand, blockchain is a secured and distributed ledger that can help resolve many of the problems with centralization. The objectives of this paper are to give insights on the use of security services for current applications, to highlight the state of the art techniques that are currently used to provide these services, to describe their challenges, and to discuss how the blockchain technology can resolve these challenges. Further, several blockchain-based approaches providing such security services are compared thoroughly. Challenges associated with using blockchain-based security services are also discussed to spur further research in this area.

• The paper provides a comprehensive survey on how blockchain enhances authentication, confidentiality, privacy, ACL, data provenance, and integrity assurance.
• It demonstrates that distributed ledger technology offers tamper-proof, automated security by eliminating centralized vulnerabilities.
• The study highlights implementation challenges such as scalability, computational complexity, and latency that need resolution for broader adoption.

Overview of Blockchain-Based Security Services

The paper "Security Services Using Blockchains: A State of the Art Survey" comprehensively investigates the integration of blockchain technology with security services across various domains. The paper focuses on significant security services: authentication, confidentiality, privacy, access control list (ACL), data provenance, and integrity assurance. As modern applications like cloud computing and distributed networks proliferate, the importance of these security services becomes pronounced. Therefore, the paper aims to evaluate the ability of blockchain technology to address existing challenges inherent in centralized systems.

Central Themes and Contributions

The work critically examines how blockchain's decentralized architecture can eliminate risks associated with centralized control points in providing security services. Current systems rely heavily on central authorities which are vulnerable to attacks and single-point failures. In contrast, blockchain promotes a distributed ledger technology, ensuring transactions and interactions are consistent, secure, and tamper-proof across the network.

Key blockchain properties such as distributed consensus, cryptographic security, and non-repudiation are emphasized as enablers for robust security services. For instance:

1. Authentication and Confidentiality are achieved using blockchain-based public key cryptography and smart contracts, which mitigate challenges faced by traditional Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
2. Data Privacy and access control are reinforced by blockchain's capability to offer transparent yet selective access to data through programmable smart contracts or adjusted management transactions.
3. Provenance assurance is facilitated by blockchain's immutable ledger, tracking data changes and proving resource ownership effectively.
4. Integrity Assurance is inherently provided by blockchain as it ensures data cannot be altered without consensus, thus enabling warranty of data integrity.

The paper further explores past studies and emerging applications leveraging blockchain to provide security services. These applications demonstrate that blockchain-based security mechanisms outperform conventional methods by eliminating the need for trust in a specific authority while ensuring security services are automated and transparent.

Challenges and Implications

Despite the advantages, the authors recognize several implementation challenges that affect the feasibility of blockchain-based security services. Key issues include:

• Scalability: With the increasing number of users and nodes in blockchain networks, systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum encounter performance bottlenecks.
• Computational Complexity: The mining process and cryptographic operations are resource-intensive, proving unsuitable for resource-constrained environments like IoT.
• Latency: Real-time applications demand quick consensus which blockchains currently struggle to deliver due to inherent operational delays.

The authors propose that future research should focus on resolving these scalability and performance issues to enhance blockchain's applicability in security-critical domains. Additionally, the balance between system complexity and the computational overhead needs to be optimized without compromising the inherent security benefits.

Future Directions

Going forward, blockchain technology promises substantial advancements in securing distributed networks and applications. As the technology matures, aligning blockchain frameworks to real-world scalability and processing requirements will unlock widespread adoption across sectors, from finance and healthcare to IoT and cloud services. Continued innovation, especially in consensus mechanisms and lightweight cryptographic algorithms, will play a pivotal role in realizing blockchain's full potential in securing advanced technological landscapes.

In conclusion, the survey establishes the promising role of blockchain in enhancing security services while drawing attention to ongoing research efforts and the continuous evolution required to address existing limitations. As we progress, blockchain will likely form the backbone of secure, decentralized applications across numerous domains.