Blockchain-Based Decentralized Data Sharing Platform for IoT Environments

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming industries by enabling the interconnection of billions of devices, facilitating smart applications in domains such as healthcare, transportation, and industrial automation. However, the inherent centralized nature of traditional IoT data-sharing systems raises significant concerns regarding data privacy, security, and single points of failure. This research proposes a blockchain-based decentralized platform for secure, transparent, and tamper-proof IoT data sharing. The platform integrates smart contracts to manage data access policies and transactions in a trustless environment, while using a private blockchain framework to optimize performance and scalability. The architecture consists of IoT devices, blockchain nodes, and an off-chain data storage layer. Data producers publish encrypted data references onto the blockchain, while authorized consumers can retrieve the data by executing smart contracts that validate permissions and usage policies. The system was evaluated using a simulated smart healthcare environment with multiple sensor nodes. Performance analysis showed that the proposed system achieves acceptable latency (< 2 seconds for typical data access) and ensures data immutability and traceability. Moreover, the decentralized design eliminates reliance on a central authority, enhancing fault tolerance and mitigating risks of data tampering or single-point failure.

KEYWORDS: Blockchain, IoT, Smart Contracts, Data Security, Decentralized Systems