Convergence of blockchain in IoT applications for heterogeneous networks

The evolution and development of the Internet of Things (IoT) make it possible to deploy decentralized and data-driven applications executing on a large number of interconnected devices. IoT has a wide range of applications in smart cities, industrial Internet, smart grids, logistics, food industry, healthcare, and smart supply chain. The intricate specifications and heterogeneous nature of the participating devices in the IoT make it more complicated and susceptible to privacy and security attacks. IoT security is becoming increasingly essential for safer connections. Blockchain technology could play a significant role to overcome the security vulnerabilities in the existing IoT devices. This chapter discusses the convergence of blockchain technology with IoT. It provides an overview of IoT and reviews the security challenges of IoT. It gives an introduction to blockchain technology and its potential benefits. Further, it discusses the use cases for the application of blockchain in IoT and examines the consensus mechanism and data stored in the blockchain of different IoT applications. It also provides an insight into the challenges and open issues for the large-scale implementation of blockchain in IoT applications.