The internet is evolving—from sharing information (Web 1.0) to exchanging value (Web 2.0). Blockchain technology, also known as distributed ledger technology, is powering this transformation. By using a network of computers, cryptography and irreversible records, blockchain enables secure and transparent transactions without intermediaries. This unlocks the potential to streamline the transfer of digital assets like money, intellectual property, and more, revolutionising industries. Blockchain's rapid rise is fuelled by global investments and a surge in government and corporate innovation. It offers the promise of digitised records, reduced costs, real-time solutions and even greater efficiency and transparency in governance. However, challenges exist alongside these benefits, including the need for regulatory frameworks and adaptation to the potential threats posed by quantum computing. The development of quantum-resistant blockchain solutions will be crucial to ensure security as this technology matures. Like all powerful technologies, blockchain's impact depends on how it's implemented—offering both transformation and potential for disruption.

Routledge eBooksJan 16, 20250 citations

Securing Optical Networks Using Quantum-Secured Blockchain: An Overview

Purva Sharma, Kwonhue Choi, Ondřej Krejcar +3 more

The deployment of optical network infrastructure and development of new network services are growing rapidly for beyond 5/6G networks. However, optical networks are vulnerable to several types of security threats, such as single-point failure, wormhole attacks, and Sybil attacks. Since the uptake of e-commerce and e-services has seen an unprecedented surge in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the security of these transactions is essential. Blockchain is one of the most promising solutions because of its decentralized and distributed ledger technology, and has been employed to protect these transactions against such attacks. However, the security of blockchain relies on the computational complexity of certain mathematical functions, and because of the evolution of quantum computers, its security may be breached in real-time in the near future. Therefore, researchers are focusing on combining quantum key distribution (QKD) with blockchain to enhance blockchain network security. This new technology is known as quantum-secured blockchain. This article describes different attacks in optical networks and provides a solution to protect networks against security attacks by employing quantum-secured blockchain in optical networks. It provides a brief overview of blockchain technology with its security loopholes, and focuses on QKD, which makes blockchain technology more robust against quantum attacks. Next, the article provides a broad view of quantum-secured blockchain technology. It presents the network architecture for the future research and development of secure and trusted optical networks using quantum-secured blockchain. The article also highlights some research challenges and opportunities.

arXiv:2105.10663SensorsJan 20, 202342 citations