Blockchain based solutions to secure IoT: Background, integration trends and a way forward

Abstract The lack of intrinsic security technologies in the current Internet of Things (IoT) systems brings forth numerous security vulnerabilities and privacy risks. To this end, a distributed and decentralized technology named blockchain comes out as a viable solution. This paper investigates the integration trends of blockchain technology with IoT and discusses the insights of this new paradigm. In particular, this paper presents a comprehensive survey on security improvements achieved in IoT systems using blockchain and the challenges that originate during this integration. Further, the paper highlights the most relevant blockchain based IoT applications and outlines some future research directions.