Editable Blockchain for Secure IoT Transactions

In recent years, blockchain has attracted extensive interest due to its decentralised and tamper-resistant nature. However, the immutability of data on the blockchain creates a number of difficulties, such as the inability to eradicate malicious transactions and modify incorrect transactions. To facilitate logical editing, the majority of existing research on editable blockchains concentrates on block-level replacement or the addition of new transactions. However, the former produces unverifiable editing records, whereas the latter lacks a secure access mechanism despite retaining evidence of inaccurate data. In addition, previous research did not completely consider the characteristics of the data to be edited, causing subsequent transactions to be affected and rendered ineffective. A model of an editable blockchain is proposed to resolve these issues. First, the blockchain's underlying data structure is redesigned to include temporal attributes and built-in indexes, using general evidence data as an example. Second, the introduction of new algorithms for submission, amending, and querying enables the logical editing of blockchain data via subsequent appended transactions. This method preserves evidence for erroneous transactions while providing users with a secure interface. To address the issue of subsequent transaction failures, the data structure and associated algorithms for transaction types with significant contextual dependencies are enhanced. These enhancements ensure that data modification does not affect subsequent transactions. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the proposed model permits blockchain editability while preserving system performance. By incorporating these innovations, it is possible to provide a framework for IoT transactions that is more flexible and secure, thereby circumventing the limitations of traditional immutable blockchains.