Blockchain-Based Device Reputation Assessment in the Industrial Internet of Things

In recent years, the rapid development of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has improved the efficiency of industrial production and also brought some security problems. Malicious devices join the network to tamper with data or obtain sensitive information, attack other honest devices, and affect network security. In response to the series of challenges brought by malicious IoT devices, this paper designs a reputation assessment scheme that uses communication time, communication quality and historical reputation value to calculate the reputation value of the device, which regulates the behaviour of the device and ensures the security of the device communication. When the device shows malicious behaviour, our scheme can reduce the reputation value of the device in time and reduce the loss. Most of the existing schemes in the industrial IoT environment store the reputation value and device information on a third-party server, which is too centralised and prone to information leakage or information tampering. In order to address this issue, this study introduces blockchain and IPFS to store device information and facilitate the process of reputation evaluation. By leveraging the characteristics of blockchain, such as its transparency, immutability, and openness, the security of information storage is ensured. Through experimental verification and performance evaluation, our scheme is able to quickly reduce the reputation score of a device when the device shows malicious behaviour, and also resists collusive attacks between devices and motivates the device to score honestly.

I. Introduction

With the massive popularity of IIoT technology, more and more factories are becoming unmanned, improving industrial production efficiency and reducing production costs [1]. Through the use of IIoT technology, factories can monitor the production process in real time and realise the automated management of materials and personnel, thus forming unmanned factories and promoting sustainable industrial development. While bringing convenience to human society, it also brings many cybersecurity issues [2].