Title: Using blockchains to protect critical infrastructures: a comparison between Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric

Authors: Wilson S. Melo Jr.; Lucas S. Dos Santos; Lucila M.S. Bento; Paulo R. Nascimento; Carlos A.R. Oliveira; Ramon R. Rezende

Addresses: National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology – Inmetro, Av. Nossa Sra. das Graças, 50, Duque de Caxias, RJ, 25250-020, Brazil ' SENAI Innovation Institute for Virtual Production Systems (Firjan Senai), Praça Natividade Saldanha, 19, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20911-210, Brazil ' Nautilus Laboratory, Armor Shield Innovation Co., Av. das Américas, 8585, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22793-081, Brazil ' National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology – Inmetro, Av. Nossa Sra. das Graças, 50, Duque de Caxias, RJ, 25250-020, Brazil ' Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-901, Brazil ' Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Av. Gal. Milton Tavares de Souza, Niterói, RJ, 24210-310, Brazil

Abstract: The monitoring and protection of critical infrastructures, especially the ones involving physical assets (e.g., dams, nuclear energy facilities, governmental buildings), constitute a challenging problem. The failure and collapse of these infrastructures can cause untold consequences. Recent works have proposed blockchains as a tool to improve monitoring systems in different critical infrastructures. However, most previous works lack on presenting a more in-depth discussion about how to implement these solutions. In this paper, we develop a practical approach. We propose a comprehensive framework that describes how to implement a blockchain-based system to monitor and protect critical infrastructures. We implement our framework in two distinct blockchain platforms: Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric. We compare both implementations and discuss their differences in terms of performance, easiness of development, security, privacy, complexity, and costs. We believe that our results can be valuable for professionals interested in applying blockchain-based solutions to protect critical infrastructures.

Keywords: blockchain; critical infrastructures; cyber-physical systems; security.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSN.2022.123294

International Journal of Security and Networks, 2022 Vol.17 No.2, pp.77 - 91

Received: 26 Feb 2021
Accepted: 26 Feb 2021
Published online: 08 Jun 2022 *

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