Blockchain and Secure Element, a Hybrid Approach for Secure Energy Smart Meter Gateways

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Energy Systems

Background:

• Blockchain technology ensures data immutability but not security at the point of data generation.
• Secure Element (SE) technology provides trusted computing resources for IoT devices.
• Existing IoT security solutions often lack a robust "root of trust".

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a hybrid approach combining blockchain and Secure Element (SE) for enhanced IoT security.
• To establish a "root of trust" for energy smart meter gateways.
• To enable secure, decentralized, end-to-end energy trading.

Main Methods:

• Integration of blockchain for secure distributed data storage.
• Implementation of Secure Element (SE) for trusted data generation and computation.
• Validation through three implementation scenarios using SE, blockchain, and LPWAN technologies.
• Case study on an Energy Smart Metering gateway for peer-to-peer energy trading.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated feasibility of the hybrid blockchain-SE approach.
• Successful encryption, transmission, and saving of data using the combined technologies.
• Overcame limitations of using blockchain or SE individually.
• Enabled a secure and decentralized local Peer to Peer energy trading scheme.

Conclusions:

• The hybrid blockchain-SE approach provides a robust "root of trust" for IoT platforms like energy smart meters.
• This method enhances data security at the point of generation and ensures secure storage.
• The validated approach facilitates secure and decentralized peer-to-peer energy trading.