Securing IoT Smart Irrigation Systems with Adapted Blockchain Based Approach

Blockchain (BC) technology promotes the scalability and stability of Internet of Things (IoT) applications and avoids the need for a single trusted authority. However, an IoT Smart Irrigation System (ISIS) comprises constrained devices such as microcontrollers and IoT gateways. A lightweight consensus mechanism is required to reduce computational costs in such systems. This paper presents a novel secure architecture for ISIS based on an adapted BC approach by implementing a lightweight Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism called Aura (Authority Round). The proposed mechanism is designed to overcome reported security limitations in commonly private BC. We apply our solution to the existing ISIS prototype developed in our laboratory. Experimental results show the feasibility and efficiency of BC technology in ISIS.