Leveraging Blockchain for IoT Network Security Enhancement: A Comprehensive Survey

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) presents enormous challenges when it comes to ensuring security and privacy across a wide, interconnected array of networks. The survey questions how blockchain is able to improve security, increase trust in, and guarantee the integrity of IoT ecosystems' data. This study points out solutions for the integration of blockchain with IoT, especially through a layered architecture designed for IoT networks, by analyzing different blockchain frameworks and consensus protocols, including Hyperledger Fabric. The major blockchain components key to secure and efficient handling of data in IoT systems, such as smart contracts and cryptographic algorithms, are assessed in this survey. This review showed that blockchain, combined with new emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), will be able to reinforce IoT networks toward secure interactions and trust management in sensitive sections, such as in healthcare and autonomous systems.