Blockchain for Healthcare Cybersecurity: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities in Decentralized Health Data Systems
O. Awobeku, A. O. Ojo
Abstract
This paper investigates the cybersecurity implications of utilizing blockchain in healthcare, analyzing both the security enhancements it offers and the unique vulnerabilities it introduces. The authors examine attack vectors such as 51% attacks, private key management issues, and smart contract exploits, specifically within the context of sensitive medical data. While acknowledging that blockchain can effectively mitigate issues like single points of failure, the research highlights that decentralized systems do not inherently guarantee total security, especially regarding the 'oracles' used to bring external clinical data into the chain. The study offers a nuanced perspective on the 'security-convenience' trade-off and proposes robust architectural defenses, such as multi-signature schemes and enhanced encryption protocols, to secure decentralized health networks. This work is essential for security engineers and cybersecurity analysts tasked with building resilient medical blockchain infrastructures in an increasingly adversarial digital landscape.
Key Findings
- 1Blockchain eliminates single points of failure but introduces new attack surfaces via smart contract vulnerabilities.
- 2Oracle security is a critical, often overlooked weak point in medical blockchain data integrity.
- 3Effective key management is the greatest challenge to user-facing decentralized healthcare apps.
- 4The integration of multi-signature protocols is recommended to harden healthcare blockchain security.
Topics
Citation
BibTeX
@misc{blockchainfor2024,
title = {Blockchain for Healthcare Cybersecurity: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities in Decentralized Health Data Systems},
author = {O. Awobeku and A. O. Ojo},
year = {2024},
howpublished = {\url{https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Blockchain-for-Healthcare-Cybersecurity:-and-in-Awobeku/472ccaa75e723623cba572275546f1ec83241f81}},
}Knowledge Explorer
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