Blockchain-Based Secure Routing Protocol for IoT Networks

Thejiya V.

Abstract: The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) has intensified the need for secure and reliable routing protocols that can operate within the severe resource constraints of IoT devices. Traditional IoT routing protocols (e.g., RPL and AODV) often struggle with security vulnerabilities such as blackhole and wormhole attacks, limited scalability, and trade-offs between overhead and performance. In this paper, we propose a theoretical design for a blockchain-based secure routing protocol tailored to IoT networks. The design integrates a lightweight distributed ledger (using platforms like IOTA?s directed acyclic graph or Hyperledger Fabric?s permissioned blockchain) to serve as a shared, immutable memory for routing information. We detail the architectural framework, including resource-aware consensus mechanisms and lightweight smart contracts to automate route validation and trust management. Our protocol leverages blockchain?s immutability and decentralized consensus to authenticate routing messages, validate route paths, and record reputation metrics for nodes, all while minimizing computational and energy overhead on constrained devices. We present an in-depth comparison with RPL and AODV, demonstrating improved security (resilience against common attacks), enhanced trust and data integrity, and reasonable scalability for IoT deployments. Evaluation criteria are discussed qualitatively, showing that the proposed approach can achieve robust defense against blackhole and wormhole attacks, with manageable latency and energy consumption overhead. We also analyze the strengths and limitations of the design ? highlighting how blockchain adds security and transparency at the cost of extra overhead ? and outline future research directions to further optimize blockchain-based routing in IoT. The insights and analysis in this paper aim to pave the way for next-generation secure and scalable routing protocols suitable for the emerging IoT ecosystem.

Keywords: IoT Routing, RPL, AODV, Blockchain, Secure Routing, Distributed Ledger, Smart Contracts, Consensus, IoT Security