SEBS: A Secure Element and Blockchain Stratagem for Securing IoT

In the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), the issue of holistic data security is complex as data has to be secured at 3 critical points i.e., 1. Point of generation (IoT sensors), 2. Point of storage, 3. Point of usage (IoT actuators). Point 2 can be adequately addressed by Blockchain that offers remarkable immutability by storing data securely and transparently in a distributed setting, making it tamper-proof while in storage. However, blockchain alone cannot root out all the data security impediments in an IoT network as Points 1 and 3 still needs to be resolved. In this paper, we propose a novel Secure Element and Blockchain based stratagem called SEBS to effectively secure all 3 Points at once, thereby realizing light, holistic, efficient IoT data security in true sense. Further, we elaborate on SEBS implementation in a generic IoT network scenario and show how it improves the performance of critical security operations by as much as 31 times. Next, we address a niche problem by proposing a novel SEOVA or SE based offline verification algorithm to verify if the data received through intermediary really belongs to the blockchain.