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Internet of Things in Cyber Security Scope

January 2022

January 2022

DOI:10.4018/978-1-7998-8382-1.ch008

In book: Blockchain Technology and Computational Excellence for Society 5.0 (pp.146-187)

Authors:

Mazoon Alrubaiei

Hothefa Shaker

Modern College of Business and Science

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IoT represents a technologically bright future where heterogeneously connected devices will be connected to the internet and make intelligent collaborations with other objects to extend the borders of the world with physical entities and virtual components. Despite rapid evolution, this environment is still facing new challenges and security issues that need to be addressed. This chapter will give a comprehensive view of IoT technologies. It will discuss the IoT security scope in detail. Furthermore, a deep analysis of the most recent proposed mechanisms is classified. This study will be a guide for future studies, which direct to three primary leading technologies—machine learning (ML), blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI)—as intelligent solutions and future directions for IoT security issues.

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Blockchain Technology

and Computational

Excellence for Society 5.0

Shahnawaz Khan

University College of Bahrain, Bahrain

Mohammad Haider Syed

Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia

Rawad Hammad

University of East London, UK

Aisha Fouad Bushager

University of Bahrain, Bahrain

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Table of Contents

Foreword ............................................................................................................ xiv

Preface ................................................................................................................xvi

Section 1

Blockchain Fundamentals

Chapter 1

Blockchain Technology in Ecosystems ..................................................................1

Sidhu Sharma, Sri Venkateshwara University, Gajraulla, India

Mohammad Haider Syed, Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia

Shahnawaz Khan, Torocs Consultancy Services, India

Chapter 2

Blockchain Technology: Principles and Algorithms ...........................................16

Mohammad Khalid Imam Rahmani, Saudi Electronic University, Saudi

Arabia

Chapter 3

Blockchain Primer: Introduction to Blockchain Foundations and

Implementation ....................................................................................................28

Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Zayed University, UAE

Sujith S. Mathew, Zayed University, UAE

Rawad Hammad, East London University, UK

Mohamed Bahja, University of Birmingham, UK

Chapter 4

Blockchain: A Disruptive Technology .................................................................48

Arish Sidiqqui, University of East London, UK

Kazi Jubaer Tansen, University of East London, UK



Section 2

Blockchain and Computational Excellence

Chapter 5

Elaborative Investigation of Blockchain Technology in Intelligent Networks ....60

Dhaya R., King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

Kanthavel R., King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

Chapter 6

Blockchain-Integrated Internet-of-Things Architecture in Privacy Preserving

for Large-Scale Healthcare Supply Chain Data ...................................................80

Kamalendu Pal, City, University of London, UK

Chapter 7

Blockchain and Copyright: Challenges and Opportunities ................................125

Pedro Pina, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Portugal

Chapter 8

Internet of Things in Cyber Security Scope.......................................................146

Mazoon Hashil Alrubaiei, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Maiya Hamood Al-Saadi, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Hothefa Shaker, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Bara Sharef, Ahlia University, Bahrain

Shahnawaz Khan, University College of Bahrain, Bahrain

Section 3

Blockchain Emerging Trends and Applications

Chapter 9

Blockchain: Emerging Trends, Applications, and Challenges ...........................189

Taskeen Zaidi, Jain University (Deemed), India

Chapter 10

Digital Economy: The New Engine of Growth for Society 5.0 .........................204

Bilyaminu Auwal Romo, University of East London, UK

Chapter 11

Applications of Blockchain Technology in the Finance and Banking Industry

Beyond Digital Currencies .................................................................................216

Sitara Karim, ILMA University, Pakistan

Mustafa Raza Rabbani, University of Bahrain, Bahrain

Hana Bawazir, University of Bahrain, Bahrain



Chapter 12

Application of Blockchain in E-Healthcare Systems .........................................239

Aman Ahmad Ansari, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

Bharavi Mishra, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

Poonam Gera, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

Compilation of References .............................................................................. 261

About the Contributors ................................................................................... 302

Index .................................................................................................................. 308

Detailed Table of Contents

Foreword ............................................................................................................ xiv

Preface ................................................................................................................ xvi

Section 1

Blockchain Fundamentals

Chapter 1

Blockchain Technology in Ecosystems ..................................................................1

Sidhu Sharma, Sri Venkateshwara University, Gajraulla, India

Mohammad Haider Syed, Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia

Shahnawaz Khan, Torocs Consultancy Services, India

The complex human society needs a robust technological ecosystem that may

interoperate cordially among the systems. As the systems are components, these

components oﬀer a variety of services for humankind. Services evolve and interact

in a diﬀerent manner and cater to numerous capabilities. These activities have many

issues that need to be taken care of with the most advanced and secure technology.

Blockchain is one such approach among the many approaches available. This study

of blockchain technology will discuss its categorization. Also, it will address how

and where all this recent technology has contributed to the ecosystem.

Chapter 2

Blockchain Technology: Principles and Algorithms ...........................................16

Mohammad Khalid Imam Rahmani, Saudi Electronic University, Saudi

Arabia

Blockchain is a distributed decentralized peer-to-peer network aiming to facilitate

the immutability and security of data. Towards the service orientation, blockchain

is a collection of distributed blocks having unique hash codes without any point of

failure. Each block is stored on distributed ledgers, and transactions with them are

secure, transparent, immutable, and traceable. To create a new block and allow a



transaction to complete, an agreement between all parties is required. To reach an

agreement in a blockchain network, consensus algorithms are used. In this chapter,

fundamental principles and algorithms of blockchain networks have been discussed,

and a detailed review of the blockchain consensus algorithms PoW, PoS, DPoS,

PoET, PoWeight, PoB, PoA, and PoC have been provided including the merits and

demerits of consensus algorithms with analysis to provide a deep understanding of

the current research trends and future challenges.

Chapter 3

Blockchain Primer: Introduction to Blockchain Foundations and

Implementation ....................................................................................................28

Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Zayed University, UAE

Sujith S. Mathew, Zayed University, UAE

Rawad Hammad, East London University, UK

Mohamed Bahja, University of Birmingham, UK

Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize several industries including

ﬁnance, supply chain and logistics, healthcare, and more. This primer introduces

readers to basic development skills to blockchain foundations including blockchain

cryptography, the consensus algorithm, and smart contracts. Further, this primer

explains stepwise how to implement and deploy basic data stores using blockchain

with Python. The primer serves as a succinct introductory guide to blockchain

foundations by relying on a case study illustrated with visuals together with instructions

on implementation. This primer is intended for educators, students, and technology

enthusiasts with foundational computer science and Python development skills.

Chapter 4

Blockchain: A Disruptive Technology .................................................................48

Arish Sidiqqui, University of East London, UK

Kazi Jubaer Tansen, University of East London, UK

Blockchain is distributed ledger technology. Its advancement has been compared

to the rise of the internet with debate about the technology’s probability to disrupt

multiple industries including healthcare, transportation, real estate, public domains,

manufacturing, intellectual property, education, and ﬁnancial services. It is predicted

that the blockchain will have a major impact on many trust-based environments due

to its nature of recording any digital transaction that is secure, eﬃcient, transparent,

auditable, and resistant to the outage, thereby providing the much-needed security in

the transfer of assets in cyberspace. This chapter will highlight some of the business

processes that can be disrupted by blockchain technology.



Section 2

Blockchain and Computational Excellence

Chapter 5

Elaborative Investigation of Blockchain Technology in Intelligent Networks ....60

Dhaya R., King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

Kanthavel R., King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

The ﬁfth generation (5G) network advancements focus to help mixed upright

applications by associating heterogeneous gadgets and machines with extreme

upgrades regarding high quality of administration, extended organization limit,

and improved framework throughput regardless of signiﬁcant diﬃculties like

decentralization, straightforwardness, dangers of information interoperability,

network protection, and security weaknesses. The challenges and limitations of

other intelligent 5G intelligent internet of networks (5G IoTs) are also to be met

by using blockchain technology with the integration of cloud computing and edge

computing technologies. In this chapter, the authors render an elaborated analytics

of the empowering of blockchain technology in intelligent networks that includes

5G networks and 5G-based IoT. The solutions for the spectrum management, data

sharing, security, and privacy in 5G networks will also be analyzed. It is believed that

the chapter would be useful for researchers in the ﬁeld of blockchain in intelligent

networks.

Chapter 6

Blockchain-Integrated Internet-of-Things Architecture in Privacy Preserving

for Large-Scale Healthcare Supply Chain Data ...................................................80

Kamalendu Pal, City, University of London, UK

The supply chain forms the backbone of healthcare industry operations. The design

and development of healthcare information systems (HIS) help diﬀerent types

of decision-making at various levels of business operations. Business process

management decision-making is a complex task requiring real-time data collection

from diﬀerent operational sources. Hence, information technology (IT) infrastructure

for data acquisition and sharing aﬀects the operational eﬀectiveness of the healthcare

industry. The internet of things (IoT) applications have drawn signiﬁcant research

interest in the service of the healthcare industry. IoT technology aims to simplify

the distributed data collection in healthcare practice, sharing, and processing of

information and knowledge across many collaborating partners using suitable

enterprise information systems. However, implementing blockchain technology in

IoT-based data communication networks demands extra research initiatives. This

chapter presents a review of security-related issues in the context of a HIS consisting

of IoT-based blockchain technology.



Chapter 7

Blockchain and Copyright: Challenges and Opportunities ................................125

Pedro Pina, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Portugal

Advances in the ﬁeld of digital technology are constantly introducing new levels of

controversy into copyright policy. Blockchain is the most recent technology with

signiﬁcative impact in digital copyright. Combined with smart contracts, blockchain

enables new eﬃcient forms of distribution of copyrighted works and also a new

model of private ordering regarding the control of uses of works on the Internet.

The chapter aims to examine the relationship and the most relevant intersections

between blockchain, digital exploitation of copyrighted works, copyright law, and

privacy law.

Chapter 8

Internet of Things in Cyber Security Scope.......................................................146

Mazoon Hashil Alrubaiei, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Maiya Hamood Al-Saadi, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Hothefa Shaker, Modern College of Business and Science, Oman

Bara Sharef, Ahlia University, Bahrain

Shahnawaz Khan, University College of Bahrain, Bahrain

IoT represents a technologically bright future where heterogeneously connected

devices will be connected to the internet and make intelligent collaborations with

other objects to extend the borders of the world with physical entities and virtual

components. Despite rapid evolution, this environment is still facing new challenges

and security issues that need to be addressed. This chapter will give a comprehensive

view of IoT technologies. It will discuss the IoT security scope in detail. Furthermore,

a deep analysis of the most recent proposed mechanisms is classiﬁed. This study will

be a guide for future studies, which direct to three primary leading technologies—

machine learning (ML), blockchain, and artiﬁcial intelligence (AI)—as intelligent

solutions and future directions for IoT security issues.

Section 3

Blockchain Emerging Trends and Applications

Chapter 9

Blockchain: Emerging Trends, Applications, and Challenges ...........................189

Taskeen Zaidi, Jain University (Deemed), India

A blockchain is a speciﬁc database stored in an electronic form. The databases stored

in a block are put in a chain. When new data is added, it will be put in a new block.

The blockchain may be created for storing diﬀerent kind of information in which

the most popular use of blockchain is ledger for transactions. Anything of value can

be put in a blockchain, and this will reduce risk factors and cost. The blockchain is



a chain of blocks used to store public databases. The blockchain can be a powerful

tool in business applications for sharing and updating data. The blockchain may be

used for the business process for handling transaction-related problems in an eﬀective

manner. The blockchain is also helpful in developing an ecosystem between various

stakeholders. The policies, beneﬁts, and cost are serious risk factors.

Chapter 10

Digital Economy: The New Engine of Growth for Society 5.0 .........................204

Bilyaminu Auwal Romo, University of East London, UK

Digital technology-enabled business processes are integrated into the digital economy.

Such technologies also enable the internet to conduct digital commerce in a trustless

network and decentralized environment. This chapter also draws attention to the

new form of economy, which focuses on the development and functions of the

digital economy as a new growth engine for Society 5.0 and sheds light on emerging

technologies and how the disruptive element of blockchain technology challenges

the status quo of the old economy and the underpinning digital disruption imposed

by decentralize platformisation. The core components of the digital economy,

including digital technologies that serve as the new engine of growth for Society

5.0, were identiﬁed. The chapter concluded by highlighting the implications of

digital technologies, and how standardisation, upgrading curriculum, legislative

frameworks, and policies remedy the impediment of growing the digital economy

for Society 5.0.

Chapter 11

Applications of Blockchain Technology in the Finance and Banking Industry

Beyond Digital Currencies .................................................................................216

Sitara Karim, ILMA University, Pakistan

Mustafa Raza Rabbani, University of Bahrain, Bahrain

Hana Bawazir, University of Bahrain, Bahrain

Blockchain and cryptocurrency have almost become synonymous. Cryptocurrency

is arguably one of the most sensational ﬁnancial innovations of the 21st century. The

current study claims that blockchain technology is not limited to the application of

digital currencies in ﬁnance and banking; there are wide applications of blockchain

technology in the given ﬁeld. Blockchain uses the unique properties enabling

decentralized, secured, transparent, and temper-proof ﬁnancial transactions that have

the potential to revolutionize the ﬁnancial services industry. Given such a stance,

the chapter outlines the application of blockchain technology in the ﬁnance arena

beyond the digital currency. In this chapter, the authors provide the 10 applications

of blockchain technology in the ﬁnancial services industry implementing the

blockchain technology and revolutionizing the ﬁnance and banking industry. The

chapter also highlights the hurdles to application of blockchain technology in the

ﬁnance and banking industry.



Chapter 12

Application of Blockchain in E-Healthcare Systems .........................................239

Aman Ahmad Ansari, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

Bharavi Mishra, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

Poonam Gera, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India

The e-healthcare system maintains sensitive and private information about patients.

In any e-healthcare system, exchanging health information is often required, making

privacy and security a primary concern for e-healthcare systems. Another major issue

is that existing e-healthcare systems use centralized servers. These centralized servers

require high infrastructure and maintenance costs for day-to-day services. Along

with that, server failure may aﬀect the working of e-healthcare systems drastically

and may create life-threatening situations for patients. Blockchain technology is a

very useful way to provide decentralized, secure storage for healthcare information.

A blockchain is a time-stamped series of immutable records of data that is managed

by a cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. These blocks create a chain

of immutable, tamper-proof blocks in a ledger. This chapter will discuss the diﬀerent

aspects of blockchain and its application in diﬀerent ﬁelds of the e-healthcare system.

Compilation of References .............................................................................. 261

About the Contributors ................................................................................... 302

Index .................................................................................................................. 308

Foreword

Blockchain has received a lot of attention in recent years and it has been seen as

the biggest invention since the advent of the internet. Blockchain is a collection of

distributed blocks connected through cryptographic hash code on a peer to peer

network having no single point of failure. Blocks stores on a distributed ledger on

a peer to peer network that makes it reliable to sustain and function. Blockchain

transactions are secure, transparent, traceable, and immutable. It provides the ability

to be used in a variety of businesses in numerous works of life such as insurance,

healthcare, payments, land registration, internet of things, asset management, supply

chain, cryptocurrencies, and many more. Cryptocurrency is one of the widely used

applications of Blockchain that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc.

Blockchain technology essentially stores the transactional data in the distributed

network. This data is validated by the majority of the stakeholders in the transaction

set. On transaction is made it can never be non-repudiated. This makes it very secure

as data once entered can never be erased.

Several publications have been published in the last few years about how

blockchain works, its applications and overall benefits. However, this fascinating

book targets to be the single point of reference for Blockchain technology for

computing excellence. It will clearly explain the core theories, concepts, systems,

and practical applications. The book will comprise a variety of real-life applications

of Blockchain technology such as digital financial transactions, insurance, medical

history management, voting, etc. with the help of visual examples as an integrated

part of society 5.0. It will also explore certain aspects of the Blockchain technology

from research, scientific and business perspective for secure, cryptographic, and

transparent applications in the fields of industry 4.0/5.0, sustainability, healthcare,

digital currency, and other related computing areas.

This book primarily focuses on the advent of Blockchain technology. It essentially

helps the reader to understand the concept as to how it can be useful in various

walks of life like finance, insurance, voting, etc. Technology is distributed so no

central governing body and thus it makes it collaborative. The focus of the book will

be on two major areas namely understanding the concept and its wide application

xiv

Foreword

areas. It will help the researchers, and learners to welcome the deep and engaging

conversations with the peers working in Blockchain technology for computational

excellence by using real-life applications, case studies, and examples from the book.

This timely book illustrates how this revolutionary technology can be used to

transform businesses across many sectors such as, financial trading, insurance,

healthcare, internet of things, asset management, supply chain management,

Cryptocurrencies, etc.

The book will cater from beginners to intermediate readers and researchers. It

illustrates from fundamentals theories to practical and sophisticated applications

of Blockchain; and provides insight into various platforms, techniques, and tools

used in Blockchain. This will develop the reader’s understanding of proof-of-work,

consensus algorithms, and smart contracts and their applications.

The book provides in-depth knowledge about Blockchain technology with

supportive real-life problems and closes the gap in the literature by providing a

selection of chapters that not only shapes the research domain but also presents

pragmatic solutions. This book is for anyone who wants to understand blockchain

in more depth. It can also be used as a textbook for courses related to computer

science, disruptive technology and blockchain technology.

• Provides practical guidance for blockchain Technology which is one of the

most talked-about technology currently.

• It will be beneﬁcial for the academicians, researchers, post-graduates,

graduates, and other technology enthusiasts

• Creating awareness and interest among learners and researcher

• Social media can be used to advertise and to build a relationship

• The book consists of a variety of examples, case studies, and practical

applications of the Blockchain technology.

Reading through this well-crafted book, you will have gained a deep understanding

of the theory and applications of blockchain real-world scenarios.

Hassan Abdalla

University of East London, UK

Preface

In the past couple of decades many technologies have been brought to the fore,

however Blockchain remains of these key technologies. Blockchain, as an emerging

technology, received a very considerable attention worldwide and continued to

disrupt the business models in various ways. Bitcoin, which is known as a digital

or cryptocurrency and uses peer to peer technology, is one of the key Blockchain

applications in FinTech domain (Su et al, 2020). In a nutshell, Blockchain is a

collection of distributed blocks connected through cryptographic hash code on a

peer-to-peer network that have no single point of failure (Tandon et al, 2021). As

Blockchain depends on cryptographic hashing functions in addition to consensus

protocols and decentralised storage, it provides traceability, transparency and

auditability (Ahmad et al, 2021). Hence, all blockchain transactions are secure,

transparent, traceable, and immutable.

Blockchain paves the ground for businesses and organisations across many

domains to opt for a new business model to provide reliable services to their

customers. Such domains include Education, Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, Supply

chain, Cryptocurrency, Internet of Things (IoT), to mention but a few (Durach et al,

2021). Just as an example, recalling the number of people using cryptocurrency at

the moment allows us to imagine why this technology is, and will continue to be,

so influential and significant. Blockchain essentially stores the transactional data in

the distributed network. The data are validated by the majority of the stakeholder

in the transaction set. Once transaction is made it can never be non-repudiated.

This makes it very secure as data once entered can never be erased (Helo, and

Shamsuzzoha, 2020). For the above-mentioned reasons, Blockchain is considered

as a revolutionary technology and has the potential to transform businesses and

economics to new dimensions.

However, successful adoption of Blockchain technology is quite challenging

as it requires careful planning and implementation strategy. For instance, talking

to businesses about Blockchain had led to huge interest but talking to business

professionals had led to one key conclusion, which is many professionals lack accurate

and detailed-enough understanding for this new technology. Consequently, they

xvi

Preface

cannot provide compelling case studies for how such technology can be adopted/

adapted to benefit their businesses (Bao et al, 2020). On the top of that, leadership and

management concerns, which include long and short-term impact, change resistance,

budget restrictions, market analysis, legal and ethical aspects, to mention but a few,

remains valid and unanswered in the majority of current businesses (Mohanta, 2018).

Developing a compelling case study can be less challenging in certain domains.

For instance, Blockchain helps to detect the frauds with ease, and it is impossible, to

a very large extent, to modify previous transactions. Double spending is one of the

most haunting concerns in digital finance, which has been solved using blockchain

(Hewa, Ylianttila & Liyanage, 2021). Moreover, smart contracts can be used in

financial transactions and in place of conventional contracts to regulate and monitor

the process with reliability and more security (Kuhail, Bhaja & Hammad, 2022).

Despite the fact that Blockchain can reduce the cost of financial services to very

large extent, it is still open to various number of challenges. For instance, in 2017

one of the Ethereum multi-signature wallet Parity lost approximately $30 million

due some security vulnerabilities (Liu & Liu, 2019). Such vulnerabilities range from

contract vulnerabilities such as: transaction-ordering dependence and timestamp

dependence, to privacy and legal issues such as: contract data privacy and trusted

data feed privacy. Hence, Destefanis et al (2018) argue that a rigor blockchain-

specific software engineering approach is needed to handle the above-presented

vulnerabilities and other challenges including: (i) readability, i.e., creation stage,

(ii) dynamic control flow, i.e., deployment, (iii) execution efficiency, i.e., execution,

and (iv) scamming, i.e., completion stage (Zheng, 2020). Recommended software

engineering approaches should be aligned very well with Software Development

Life Cycle for Ultra Large-Scale Software Systems, which ensure a thorough risk

assessment and mitigation strategy to be in place (Barger et al, 2020).

This book provides broad coverage of Blockchain technology in finance, cloud

computing, security, cryptocurrency, industrial internet of things, and healthcare, etc.

It provides insights into blockchain features, business use cases, smart contracts, and

its utility, mining, consensus, public and enterprise blockchains and cryptocurrency

essentials. Furthermore, this book targets to be the single point of reference for

Blockchain technology for computing excellence. It will clearly explain the core

theories, concepts, systems, and practical applications. It will comprise a variety of

real-life applications of Blockchain technology in different domains with the help

of visual examples as an integrated part of society 5.0. It will also explore certain

aspects of the Blockchain technology from research, scientific and business perspective

for secure, cryptographic, and transparent applications in the fields of industry 4.0,

sustainability, healthcare, digital currency, and other related computing areas.

xvii

Preface

This book should help the reader to understand Blockchain concepts, theories,

models and best practices as to how they can be useful in various walks of life

including: finance, insurance and voting. Additionally, it will address the distributed

notion of this technology as no central governing body should be in place, and thus

collaborative approach needs to be followed.

Three key areas will be discussed in the book as follows. First, blockchain

fundamentals will be introduced. This includes: (i) Blockchain technology in

ecosystem, (ii) Blockchain major principles and algorithms, (iii) Blockchain

primer: foundations and implementation, and finally (iv) Blockchain as a disruptive

technology and its potential to build an innovative decentralised system. Second,

Blockchain and computational excellence will be discussed in relation to real life

contexts. This includes: (i) elaborative investigation of Blockchain technology in

intelligent networks, (ii) Blockchain integrated Internet of Things architecture in

privacy-preserving for large scale healthcare supply chain, (iii) Blockchain and

scope. Third, reflections on Blockchain Emerging Trends and Applications will be

presented to conclude the progress made in this discipline. This section introduces the

following: (i) Blockchain emerging trends, applications and challenges: Blockchain

applications, (ii) digital economy: the new engine of growth for society 5.0, (iii)

the applications of Blockchain technology in finance and banking industry beyond

digital currencies and (iv) the application of Blockchain in e-healthcare system.

ORGANISATION OF THE BOOK

The book is organised into 12 chapters. A brief description of each of the chapters

follows:

Chapter 1 presents the complex human society need for a robust technological

ecosystem that may interoperate cordially among the systems. It also reflects on

how the systems and its components offer variety of services for humankind in a

reliable manner. This is linked very well with Blockchain services that evolve and

interact in different manner and cater to numerous capabilities. Blockchain is one of

such approaches among the many approaches available to provide reliable services.

This chapter addresses how and where Blockchain technology has contributed to

the ecosystem.

Chapter 2 explains the distributed decentralized peer-to-peer network of Blockchain

that facilitates the immutability and security of data. From a service perspective,

it presents: (i) how distributed blocks work together based on unique hash codes

without any point of failure, and (ii) how each block is stored on distributed ledgers

that keep transactions secure, transparent, immutable, and traceable. It also reflects

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on the process of creating a new block and allowing a transaction to complete, and

why the agreement between all parties is essential in this context. In the chapter,

fundamental principles and algorithms of Blockchain networks have been discussed.

A detailed review of the Blockchain consensus algorithms including PoW, PoS,

DPoS, PoET, PoWeight, PoB, PoA, and PoC have been provided in addition to the

merits and demerits of consensus algorithms with their analysis so that the readers

are acquainted with the current research trends and future application challenges.

Chapter 3 presents the potential of Blockchain technology to revolutionise several

industries including finance, supply chain and logistics, healthcare, and more. This

primer introduces readers with basic development skills to Blockchain foundations

including Blockchain cryptography, the consensus algorithm, and smart contracts.

Further, this primer explains stepwise how to implement and deploy basic data

stores using Blockchain with Python. The primer serves as a succinct introductory

guide to Blockchain foundations by relying on a case study illustrated with visuals

together with instructions on implementation. This primer is intended for educators,

students, and technology enthusiasts with foundational computer science and Python

development skills.

Chapter 4 discusses the Blockchain advancement and its potential to disrupt

multiple industries including healthcare, transportation, real estate, public domains,

manufacturing, intellectual property, education and financial services. It discusses

how Blockchain will have a major impact on many trust-based environments due

to its nature of recording any digital transaction in a secure, efficient, transparent,

auditable and immutable way. This chapter also reflects on the much-needed security

in the transfer of assets in the Cyber-Space. In addition, this chapter will highlight

some of the business processes that can be disrupted by Blockchain technology.

This chapter concludes the first part of the book and paves the ground to the second

part of the book which addresses the Blockchain and computational excellence.

Chapter 5 marks the beginning of the second section of the book and presents the

connection between Blockchain and the fifth generation (5G) networks advancements.

Such links explicates the applications of advance technologies supported by

heterogeneous gadgets and machines with extreme upgrades regarding high quality

of administration, extended organization limit and improved framework throughput.

The challenges and limitations of other intelligent 5G intelligent Internet of Networks

(5G IoTs) are also presented in this chapter to be met by Blockchain technology with

the integration of cloud computing and Edge computing technologies. Moreover,

the author renders elaborated analytics of Blockchain technology in intelligent

networks that includes 5G networks and 5G based IoT. It alludes to the solutions

for the spectrum management, data sharing, security and privacy in 5G networks.

Chapter 6 reflects on the importance of supply chain for healthcare industry

and highlights the needs to design and develop innovative healthcare information

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Preface

systems (HIS) to help different types of decision-making at various levels of

business operation. Business process management decision-making is a complex

task requiring real-time data collection from different operational sources. Hence,

information technology (IT) infrastructure for data acquisition and sharing affects the

operational effectiveness of the healthcare industry which necessitates Blockchain

adoption. The Internet of Things (IoT) applications have drawn significant research

interest in the service of the healthcare industry. IoT technology aims to simplify

the distributed data collection in healthcare practice, sharing and processing

information and knowledge across many collaborating partners using suitable

enterprise information systems. Therefore, implementing blockchain technology

in IoT-based data communication networks demand extra research initiatives. This

chapter presents also reviews security-related issues in the context of a HIS consists

of IoT-based blockchain technology.

Chapter 7 summarises the challenges and opportunities of Blockchain in the

context of copyrights. The continuously evolving advancements in the field of digital

technology are constantly introducing new levels of controversy into copyright

policy. This chapter identifies how Blockchain, the most recent technology with

significant impact in digital copyright, can be beneficial to address copyright

challenges. Combined with smart contracts, blockchain enables new efficient forms

of distribution of copyrighted works and a new model of private ordering regarding

the control of uses of works on the Internet. Finally, this chapter aims to examine

the relationship and the most relevant intersections between blockchain, digital

exploitation of copyrighted works, copyright law and privacy law.

Chapter 8 introduces the IoT as a vehicle for connecting heterogeneous set of

devices to the internet to facilitate intelligent collaborations with other objects and

to extend the borders of the world with physical entities and virtual component.

Despite the rapid technological evolution, this chapter identifies few challenges

and security issues that need to be addressed. It gives a comprehensive view of IoT

technologies, along with security concerns. Furthermore, a deep analysis of the most

recent proposed mechanisms is classified. Also, this chapter guides the readers to

future directions that will impact this area of research. These areas are Machine

Learning (ML), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligent (AI) which will significantly

impact the future direction for IoT security issues. The chapter concludes the second

section of the book.

Chapter 9 summarises Blockchain emerging trends, applications, and challenges.

It explains how Blockchain can be used for storing different kind of information in

which most popular use of blockchain is ledger for transactions. Anything of value

can be put in a blockchain which will be reducing risk factors as well as the cost.

This chapter reflects as well on how Blockchain can be a powerful tool in business

applications for sharing and updating data. It also highlights the use of Blockchain in

Preface

business process for handling transactions related problems in an effective manner.

The chapter concludes the role of Blockchain in developing an ecosystem between

various stakeholders but somehow with various challenges, policies, cost, and risk.

Chapter 10 discusses the digital economy as the engine of growth for society 5.0. It

highlights how digital technologies, including Blockchain, enable business processes

to be integrated into the digital economy. Such technologies also enable the Internet

to conduct digital commerce in a trustless network and decentralised environment.

This chapter also draws attention to the new form of economy, which focuses on

the development and functions of the digital economy as a new growth engine for

society 5.0. As well as shed a light on emerging technologies and how the disruptive

element of blockchain technology challenges the status of the old economy and the

underpinning digital disruption imposed by decentralise platformisation. The core

components of the digital economy, including digital technologies, were identified,

as well as concluded by highlighting the implications of digital technologies, and

how standardisation, upgrading curriculum, legislative frameworks and policies

remedy the impediment of growing the digital economy for society 5.0.

Chapter 11 presents one of the most powerful applications of Blockchain, which

is Cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is arguably one of the most sensational financial

innovations of the twenty first century powered by the blockchain technology.

This chapter claims that blockchain technology is not limited to the application

of digital currencies in finance and banking, but there are wide applications of

blockchain technology in the given field. Blockchain uses the unique properties

enabling decentralized, secured, transparent and temper-proof financial transaction

that has the potential to revolutionize the financial services industry. Given such

stance, this chapter outlines the application of Blockchain technology in finance

arena beyond the digital currency. It provides the ten applications of blockchain

technology in the financial services industry implementing the blockchain technology

and revolutionising the finance and banking industry. Finally, it shed lights on the

hurdles to application of Blockchain technology in finance and banking industry.

Chapter 12 concludes the book by presenting the applications of Blockchain in

e-healthcare systems that maintain sensitive and private information about patients.

The chapter focuses on the need for Blockchain application in healthcare to ensure

secure exchange for health information, to meet privacy and security concerns. In

addition, this chapter presents a view where Blockchain allows healthcare to move

away from centralised infrastructure as these centralised servers and infrastructure

require high maintenance costs. Besides, it discusses how healthcare servers failure

affect the working of e-healthcare systems drastically and may create life-threatening

situations for patients. In this context, Blockchain technology can be very useful to

provide decentralised, secure storage for health care information. The chapter explains

how this blockchain technology is a time-stamped series of immutable records of

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data that is managed by a cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. At

the end, this chapter concludes with different future applications for Blockchain in

different fields of E-healthcare system.

To summarise, the book provides in-depth knowledge about Blockchain technology

with supportive real-life problems and closes the gap in the literature by providing

a selection of chapters that not only shapes the research domain but also presents

pragmatic solutions and futuristic vision on how Blockchain can be applied across

many disciplines.

Shahnawaz Khan

University College of Bahrain, Bahrain

Mohammad Haider Syed

Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia

Rawad Hammad

University of East London, UK

Aisha Fouad Bushager

University of Bahrain, Bahrain

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Section 1

Blockchain Fundamentals

Chapter 1

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8382-1.ch001

ABSTRACT