UK and Indian tech institute work on IoT security blockchain
City University London and the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur will develop a blockchain for internet of things (IoT) applications, with a specific focus on protecting healthcare networks. The blockchain will use attribute-based encryption to improve the security of data shared between IoT devices, said Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, professor of network engineering at City University. This comes after the WannaCry ransomware attacks exposed widespread vulnerabilities in cybersecurity.

A UK university has partnered with an Indian tech institute to examine Blockchain protection against future cyberattacks like WannaCry.

City University London and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur will work together via a consortium which will focus specifically on arming health care entities and Internet of Things (IoT) components against the effects of international cybercrime.

The UK’s National Health Service was a major victim of WannaCry earlier this year after hackers found easy prey in the state-run network’s legacy operating systems.

“Our consortium will be exploring the use of a privacy-preserving Blockchain architecture for IoT applications in healthcare data-sharing, using attribute-based encryption (ABE) to provide greater security for the devices,” Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, professor of network engineering at City University said, quoted by local news resource Internet of Business.

Research into the capabilities of WannaCry internationally cast further doubt on the ability of certain countries, India among them, to resist infection.

In particular, India’s ATM network could have succumbed to the malicious parties, reports suggested at the time.

Rajarajan said that security of IoT devices used in health networks and elsewhere would also form an area of investigation.

Other countries have been experimenting with Blockchain healthcare for some time, notably Estonia, which has sought to put its records on the Blockchain to increase both flexibility and security.

The NHS also faced calls to meet attackers with Blockchain tools immediately following the hack.