Blockchain-based secure firmware management system in IoT environment

TLDR

The rapid expansion of IoT devices in smart factories and cities has heightened security concerns, yet existing solutions struggle with low device performance and vulnerabilities such as man‑in‑the‑middle and rollback attacks. This work proposes a firmware management architecture that leverages blockchain and IPFS to address these security challenges. By storing firmware on IPFS to guarantee integrity and using blockchain to secure the IPFS URLs and manage device versions, the system also provides an IoT device management function. The architecture enables secure firmware distribution and updates, thereby improving the overall security level of IoT devices.

Abstract

Following the recent increase in smart factories and smart cities and the fourth industrial revolution, the number of IoT devices has been increasing and accordingly, the security of IoT devices has also become an important issue. However, due to reasons such as the low performance of IoT devices, the currently existing security solutions can be hardly applied and even if safe firmware is supplied, security problems may arise due to attacks such as man-in-the-middle attacks and roll-back attacks. To resolve such problems, we propose a new firmware management architecture using blockchains and IPFS (The InterPlanetary File System). Using IPFS can ensure the integrity of the firmware. However, IoT device version management and IPFS URL integrity cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, IoT devices are enabled to be provided with firmware information and updated through blockchian networks to ensure the integrity of the IPFS URL, and an IoT devices management function is provided. The proposed system enables safe firmware distribution and update, and IoT devices' security level is expected to be higher. Through the proposed system, safe firmware distribution and update will become possible and IoT device security levels are expected to be enhanced.