Secure Smart City Infrastructure Using Blockchain-integrated IoT Systems
Keywords:
Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Decentralized infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart cities, Smart contractsAbstract
The rapid growth of urban populations and the increasing deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices have accelerated the transformation of conventional cities into intelligent smart cities. These smart environments rely on interconnected sensors, communication networks, and cloud platforms to provide efficient public services, resource management, transportation, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. However, the centralized architecture adopted by most IoT-based smart city systems introduces significant challenges related to cybersecurity, data privacy, trust management, unauthorized access, and single points of failure. Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising decentralized solution capable of addressing these limitations by ensuring immutable data storage, distributed consensus, secure authentication, and transparent information sharing among heterogeneous IoT devices. This paper presents a comprehensive review of secure smart city infrastructure using blockchain-integrated IoT systems by examining recent technological advancements, architectural models, security mechanisms, and practical applications across various smart city domains. The study discusses the integration of blockchain with IoT for secure data exchange, identity management, access control, smart contracts, and decentralized decision-making. Furthermore, major challenges including scalability, computational overhead, interoperability, energy consumption, latency, and regulatory compliance are critically analyzed. The paper also highlights the convergence of blockchain with artificial intelligence, edge computing, digital twins, and next-generation communication networks to enhance intelligent urban infrastructure. The findings indicate that blockchain-integrated IoT systems significantly improve security, reliability, transparency, and resilience while enabling sustainable and trustworthy smart city services. Future research should focus on lightweight blockchain frameworks, energy-efficient consensus mechanisms, and intelligent decentralized architectures to support scalable and secure urban ecosystems.
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