BLOWN: A Blockchain Protocol for Single-Hop Wireless Networks under Adversarial SINR

Known as a distributed ledger technology (DLT), blockchain has attracted much attention due to its properties such as decentralization, security, immutability and transparency, and its potential of servicing as an infrastructure for various applications. Blockchain can empower wireless networks with identity management, data integrity, access control, and high-level security. However, previous studies on blockchain-enabled wireless networks mostly focus on proposing architectures or building systems with popular blockchain protocols. Nevertheless, such existing protocols have obvious shortcomings when adopted in wireless networks where nodes have limited physical resources, fall short of well-established reliable channels, variable bandwidths impacted by environments or jamming attacks. In this paper, we propose a novel consensus protocol named Proof-of-Channel (PoC) leveraging the natural properties of wireless communications, and a BLOWN protocol (BLOckchain protocol for Wireless Networks) for wireless networks under an adversarial SINR model. We formalize BLOWN with the universal composition framework and prove its security properties, namely persistence and liveness, as well as its strengths in countering against adversarial jamming, double-spending, and Sybil attacks, which are also demonstrated by extensive simulation studies.