SEDIBLOFRA: A Blockchain-Based, Secure Framework for Remote Data Transfer in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Security attacks on Cyber-Physical Systems with operations that involve Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a matter of great concern due to their major impact in the deployed systems, and a deal-breaker for their utilization; if a system is not perceived as secure, either it will not be used or its capabilities will be underutilized, regardless of how good they could be. This happens with particular intensity in missions with UAVs, as they can be hacked to tamper with their collected data or taken away by unauthorized parties. Development of security countermeasures is extensive both in theoretical and practical implementations, but the integration of these measures can be difficult, and performance might be affected because of it. This manuscript puts forward a SEDIBLOFRA (Secure, Distributed, Blockchain-based Framework) for remote maneuvering of UAVs, based on several distributed systems technologies that pile up to provide complementary functionalities. Asymmetric cryptography encrypts the data. Publish/Subscribe communications offer a way to enhance data delivery. Finally, blockchain provides a way to keep all the transferred data in a redundant and immutable manner. The proposed framework is also extensible to other kinds of unmanned vehicles, like Unmanned Ground Vehicles or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

Automated summary

Security attacks on Cyber-Physical Systems with operations that involve Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can have a major impact on system deployment and utilization. Integrating security countermeasures may be difficult and could affect system performance.