The rapid integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) into healthcare ecosystems has revolutionized patient monitoring and data accessibility; however, it has simultaneously expanded the cyber-attack surface, leaving sensitive medical data vulnerable to sophisticated breaches. This systematic literature review (SLR) addresses the critical challenge of balancing high-level security with the severe resource constraints of medical sensors and edge devices. By synthesizing evidence from 80 high-impact studies including 18 primary research articles published between 2022 and 2025 this paper evaluates the quality and efficacy of emerging cryptographic frameworks. The methodology utilizes a rigorous quality assessment framework to categorize research into "Strong," "Moderate," and "Weak" tiers. Key findings reveal a significant paradigm shift toward lightweight symmetric ciphers, such as GIFT and PRESENT, and certificateless authentication protocols like ELWSCAS, which reduce communication overhead in narrow-band environments. The analysis further explores the role of blockchain-assisted decentralization and DNA-based encryption in mitigating Single Point of Failure risks and providing high entropy. While decentralized models significantly enhance data integrity, they frequently encounter a scalability wall regarding transaction latency. Furthermore, the review assesses quantum readiness, noting that while lattice-based standards are being ported to microcontrollers, memory footprints remain a barrier for simpler sensors. Ultimately, this SLR maps the current technical frontiers and provides a strategic roadmap for future research, emphasizing the transition toward lightweight, quantum-resistant architectures as the next essential step in securing the global healthcare IoT infrastructure.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Funding
The research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data Fabrication/Falsification Statement
The author(s) declare that no data has been fabricated, falsified, or manipulated in this study.
Participant Consent
The authors confirm that Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and confidentiality was duly maintained.
Copyright and Licensing
For all articles published in the NIJEC journal, Copyright (c) of this study is with author(s).
Barasa Larsen, Cahyadi Tri, Simanjuntak Marihot
et al.
This investigation explores maritime professionals' perspectives on blockchain-enabled agricultural supply chain integration for island community sustainability. Through qualitative analysis of ten experienced maritime graduates with decade-long industry expertise, the research examines professional readiness for technological transformation within traditional shipping operations. Using phenomenological methodology, the study reveals sophisticated professional understanding of blockchain potential for transparency verification, carbon credit integration, and multi- stakeholder coordination, while identifying critical capacity-building needs for successful implementation. Findings show strong recognition of blockchain benefits for supply chain transparency (80% high recognition) and environmental stewardship (80% high integration potential), but reveal significant development needs in blockchain technology literacy (80% high priority) and agricultural supply chain understanding (70% high priority). The research contributes frameworks for maritime education transformation and industry collaboration strategies supporting comprehensive sustainability initiatives.
Abstract Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) facilitate data communication across multiple nodes and hop stations, characterized by their dynamic topology. This inherent flexibility, however, makes MANETs vulnerable to various security threats, notably blackhole and wormhole attacks, where malicious nodes can intercept and manipulate data. This study investigates the security vulnerabilities of MANETs, particularly against blackhole, Sybil, and wormhole attacks, and introduces the Advanced Blockchain Dynamic Source Routing (ABCD) algorithm to address these challenges. Motivated by the need for robust and decentralized security solutions in MANETs, the proposed algorithm integrates blockchain technology and homomorphic encryption to secure data communication without intermediate decryption. The ABCD algorithm leverages Dijkstra’s algorithm for optimal routing and employs a tamper-proof, decentralized data storage approach. Comparative analysis under attack scenarios reveals that the ABCD algorithm outperforms the standard DSR protocol across multiple quality of service metrics, demonstrating a significant improvement in MANET security over equivalent studies. The packet delivery rate is also improved from 81 to 92% using the modified ABCD algorithm.
We conduct a cryptanalysis of the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) handover authentication protocol newly developed by Son et al., which incorporates blockchain technology for authentication purposes. Although this approach is notably efficient, our analysis reveals that the protocol is vulnerable to vehicle impersonation attacks, traceability attacks, and trusted authority (TA) circumvention attacks. To address these security vulnerabilities, we propose an enhanced protocol integrating Schnorr signature-based authentication, dynamically refreshed temporary identities, and TA-anchored credential mechanisms. We validate its security through heuristic analysis and formal verification using ProVerif. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison with various related schemes confirms that the new protocol achieves a higher level of security while simultaneously maintaining satisfactory efficiency in both the computational and communication aspects.
Cooperative multi-UAV clusters have been widely applied in complex mission scenarios due to their flexible task allocation and efficient real-time coordination capabilities. The Air Command Aircraft (ACA), as the core node within the UAV cluster, is responsible for coordinating and managing various tasks within the cluster. When the ACA undergoes fault recovery, a handover operation is required, during which the ACA must re-authenticate its identity with the UAV cluster and re-establish secure communication. However, traditional, centralized identity authentication and ACA handover mechanisms face security risks such as single points of failure and man-in-the-middle attacks. In highly dynamic network environments, single-chain blockchain architectures also suffer from throughput bottlenecks, leading to reduced handover efficiency and increased authentication latency. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a mathematically structured dual-chain framework that utilizes a distributed ledger to decouple the management of identity and authentication information. We formalize the ACA handover process using cryptographic primitives and accumulator functions and validate its security through BAN logic. Furthermore, we conduct quantitative analyses of key performance metrics, including time complexity and communication overhead. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach ensures secure handover while significantly reducing computational burden. The framework also exhibits strong scalability, making it well-suited for large-scale UAV cluster networks.
Ammad Aslam, Octavian Postolache, Sancho Oliveira
et al.
Sharding is an emerging blockchain technology that is used extensively in several fields such as finance, reputation systems, the IoT, and others because of its ability to secure and increase the number of transactions every second. In sharding-based technology, the blockchain is divided into several sub-chains, also known as shards, that enhance the network throughput. This paper aims to examine the impact of integrating sharding-based blockchain network technology in securing IoT sensors, which is further used for environmental monitoring. In this paper, the idea of integrating sharding-based blockchain technology is proposed, along with its advantages and disadvantages, by conducting a systematic literature review of studies based on sharding-based blockchain technology in recent years. Based on the research findings, sharding-based technology is beneficial in securing IoT systems by improving security, access, and transaction rates. The findings also suggest several issues, such as cross-shard transactions, synchronization issues, and the concentration of stakes. With an increased focus on showcasing the important trade-offs, this paper also offers several recommendations for further research on the implementation of blockchain network technology for securing IoT sensors with applications in environment monitoring. These valuable insights are further effective in facilitating informed decisions while integrating sharding-based technology in developing more secure and efficient decentralized networks for internet data centers (IDCs), and monitoring the environment by picking out key points of the data.
Haoliang Wang, Zarina Shukur, Khairul Akram Zainol Ariffin
et al.
Abstract In recent years, online examinations have been widely adopted because of their flexibility, but the covert and diverse nature of cheating behaviour poses a serious challenge to the fairness and integrity of examinations. Existing anti-cheating techniques are deficient in detecting diverse cheating behaviours in real-time and ensuring the credibility of evidence. To address this problem, this paper proposes an integrated solution for online exam cheating detection based on the lightweight YOLOv12 model and blockchain trusted depository. Firstly, we made targeted lightweight improvements to the benchmark YOLOv12n model by removing the computationally intensive Attention mechanism from the backbone network and simplifying the module structure (modifying the A2C2f module), as well as replacing the computationally heavy C3k2 module in the head network with the efficient C3Ghost module. These modifications aim to reduce the model’s computational complexity and number of parameters, increasing inference speed, thus making it more suitable for real-time detection tasks. Secondly, to address the issue of credible evidence preservation concerning cheating, we constructed a evidence preservation system based on the Hyperledger Fabric consortium blockchain, combined with IPFS distributed storage technology. Key screenshots of suspected cheating behaviors are stored on IPFS, and their content identifier (CID) along with detection metadata (such as timestamp, detection type, confidence, etc.) is recorded on the blockchain through smart contracts, ensuring the originality, integrity, and immutability of the evidence. Experiments conducted on an online exam cheating dataset containing categories of ’person’ and ’electronic devices’ demonstrate that the proposed lightweight YOLOv12NoAttn model exhibits competitive detection performance (with slight improvements in mAP50 and Recall) while showing higher efficiency by significantly reducing parameters (approximately 28%) and GFLOPs (approximately 13%). Ablation experiments further verify the effectiveness of the lightweight improvements made to both the backbone and head networks. This research provides an efficient, accurate, and trustworthy solution for cheating detection and evidence management in online examinations, contributing to the maintenance of fairness and integrity in online assessments.
This study investigates how decentralization and transparency offered by blockchain technology could revolutionize traditional finance. Even with the rise of well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, a general understanding of blockchain’s influence on the financial industry is still lacking. We identified five major application cases—transparent credit scoring, effective consumer identification, expedited insurance settlements, improved cybersecurity, and the emergence of decentralized finance—where blockchain technology is well positioned to tackle persistent issues. We show how blockchain technology may address problems such as opaque credit scoring, poor customer identity, convoluted insurance settlement procedures, and susceptibility to cyberattacks by thoroughly examining various use cases. According to our research, a greater number of traditional financial institutions need to embrace and integrate blockchain innovations into their functions to promote inclusivity, transparency, and decentralization.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a crucial treatment option for hematological disorders. This study aims to design and develop a blockchain-based system tailored explicitly for HSCT typing and evaluate its performance and capabilities. The system, built on Hyperledger Fabric 2.4.6 and integrated with LevelDB and MySQL databases, implements features such as data on-chaining, access control, information retrieval, and matching through chaincode. It ensures accurate and efficient human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing while protecting patient and hospital data security. Tests demonstrate the system’s ability to safeguard data security and reliability effectively. Performance metrics, including block size, CPU utilization, network throughput, and response latency, were evaluated on Ubuntu 20.04.2 operating systems using VMware Workstation 16 Pro and Docker containerization. By leveraging blockchain’s traceability and immutability, the system achieves data security, reliability, and verifiability, enabling faster and more accurate typing and improved healthcare efficiency. This innovative approach optimizes user experience, maintains data integrity, and ensures privacy. Future integration with existing databases could enable secure data sharing among healthcare institutions, allowing rapid verification of data ownership and unified authentication. This study contributes a significant advancement in hematologic disease treatment and research, offering practical implications for improving HSCT processes.
Issues of limited scene adaptability, inadequate evidence preservation, and low efficiency in traditional digital forensics were addressed by analyzing the feasibility of incorporating decentralized, tamper-resistant blockchain technology into digital forensic practices. Initially, a phased forensic process was proposed based on a hierarchical architecture for blockchain forensic technology, examining the advancements of blockchain at each stage of evidence acquisition, preservation, and presentation. Subsequently, limitations in existing research were analyzed, and a digital forensic framework incorporating comprehensive blockchain involvement was designed by utilizing the distributed advantages of blockchain. This framework integrated evidence information into the on-chain data structure and introduced a complementary graph analysis algorithm to standardize evidence collection across various scenarios. An off-chain distributed database was employed to achieve scalable, efficient storage, while smart contract templates enhance the reusability of contracts for similar forensic transactions. Lastly, potential future directions for the application of blockchain technology in forensic science were explored.
Ring signcryption with no group administrator satisfies the decentralization and blockchain anonymity. In this article, we construct new lattice-based ring signcryption scheme suitable for consortium blockchain (CB-LRSCS), in which the smart contract controls the process of signcryption and unsigncryption to make the system be fair and reliable. CB-LRSCS can protect the user privacy by reducing the connection between blockchain and user information, and it satisfies the reliability in ethereum environment. CB-LRSCS also has the characteristics of high efficiency, anti-quantum, anti-forgery, confidentiality and unconditional anonymity, and it can be applied in the electronic finance system.
With various emerging technologies and integration possibilities, smart facility management has gained wide interest in recent years. Several technologies were introduced to support facilities management and improve decision-making, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twin (DT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain. Yet, facility managers still face challenges related to data handling and the actual implementation of these technologies. Thus, this paper explores the trends and integration possibilities of smart facilities management technologies to provide a deeper understanding of the current research state and the areas for future exploration. The Scopus database is utilized to collect literature data, and a bibliometric analysis is conducted on 7236 publications of different types, including conference publications, articles, reviews, and book chapters, using VOSviewer software. The results revealed a noticeable growth in the annual number of publications related to this field after 2018. BIM, IoT, and DT were seen to share the greatest research attention, with BIM being the dominant technology. With recent wide attention, blockchain technology is noticed to be introducing many integration possibilities. In addition, the prominent contributing authors, countries, and sources to this research area are also identified.
Romeo Bandinelli, Gabriele Scozzafava, Bianca Bindi
et al.
The importance of traceability in food products in regard to consumer preferences, the difficulty of certifications in communicating credence attributes, and concerns about food safety, have led consumers to ask for more information about the credibility of information reported on the label with the product itself, due to the importance of traceability in food products. An objective of this study is to analyze the benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the supply chain for ancient wheat, as a technology capable of sharing reliable information about the products easily along the entire value chain. In particular, the aim is to evaluate how the consumer reacts when confronted with a package of ancient wheat pasta for which all the information on its origin and processing methods is available. In order to achieve these results, a survey based on the Technology Acceptance Model has been developed and conducted in the Italian country. Result indicates the importance of identifying an independent variable that represents the degree of security when faced with a threat that creates a circumstance, condition or event that can lead to economic hardship, for example, data destruction, disclosure, modification, fraud, waste, and abuse. The strength of blockchain lies precisely in its ability to guarantee the immutability of data throughout the supply chain, providing the end consumer with a high-quality product.
Systems engineering, Marketing. Distribution of products
Massive amounts of data drive the performance of deep learning models, but in practice, data resources are often highly dispersed and bound by data privacy and security concerns, making it difficult for multiple data sources to share their local data directly. Data resources are difficult to aggregate effectively, resulting in a lack of support for model training. How to collaborate between data sources in order to aggregate the value of data resources is therefore an important research question. However, existing distributed-collaborative-learning architectures still face serious challenges in collaborating between nodes that lack mutual trust, with security and trust issues seriously affecting the confidence and willingness of data sources to participate in collaboration. Blockchain technology provides trusted distributed storage and computing, and combining it with collaboration between data sources to build trusted distributed-collaborative-learning architectures is an extremely valuable research direction for application. We propose a trusted distributed-collaborative-learning mechanism based on blockchain smart contracts. Firstly, the mechanism uses blockchain smart contracts to define and encapsulate collaborative behaviours, relationships and norms between distributed collaborative nodes. Secondly, we propose a model-fusion method based on feature fusion, which replaces the direct sharing of local data resources with distributed-model collaborative training and organises distributed data resources for distributed collaboration to improve model performance. Finally, in order to verify the trustworthiness and usability of the proposed mechanism, on the one hand, we implement formal modelling and verification of the smart contract by using Coloured Petri Net and prove that the mechanism satisfies the expected trustworthiness properties by verifying the formal model of the smart contract associated with the mechanism. On the other hand, the model-fusion method based on feature fusion is evaluated in different datasets and collaboration scenarios, while a typical collaborative-learning case is implemented for a comprehensive analysis and validation of the mechanism. The experimental results show that the proposed mechanism can provide a trusted and fair collaboration infrastructure for distributed-collaboration nodes that lack mutual trust and organise decentralised data resources for collaborative model training to develop effective global models.
The digitisation of administrative tasks and processes is a reality nowadays, translating into added value such as agility in process management, or simplified access to stored data. The digitisation of processes of decision-making in collegiate bodies, such as Academic Councils, is not yet a common reality. Voting acts are still carried out in person, or at most in online meetings, without having a real confirmation of the vote of each element. This is particularly complex to achieve in remote meeting scenarios, where connection breaks or interruptions of audio or video streams may exist. A new digital platform was already previously proposed. It considered decision-making, by voting in Academic Councils, to be supported by a system that guarantees the integrity of the decisions taken, even when meeting online. Our previous work mainly considered the overall design. In this work, we bettered the design and specification of our previous proposal and describe the implemented prototype, and validate and discuss the obtained results.