CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — A noteworthy research paper spotlighting a new blockchain framework written by graduate student and primary author LaChiara Landrum and her team at Meharry SACS was presented at the IEEE Global Communications Conference 2024 (GLOBECOM).
Blockchain-based innovation
Under the supervision of Associate Professor of Cybersecurity Dr. Uttam Ghosh, Landrum and her team created an innovative blockchain-based solution designed to enhance the security and efficiency of software-defined networking, or SDN.
“Our goal was to create a system that is both simple and powerful,” says Landrum.
The paper, titled “A Scalable Blockchain Framework for Secure Data and Computational Resource Management in SDN,” was presented as part of the BlockSecSDN session focused on blockchain for secure software-defined networking in smart communities.
“The blockchain layer we integrated ensures high levels of security and scalability,” continues Landrum, a master’s in data science student at Meharry SACS. “Our system is designed to easily integrate with existing SDN environments, making it applicable for a range of industries, from smart cities to critical infrastructure.”
Real-world applications
The proposed framework is expected to play a crucial role in securing communication systems within smart cities and other critical infrastructures. The research team’s work focuses on secure data and resource management in SDN, which is critical for smart communities where reliable networking is essential for infrastructure operations.
“By using blockchain, our framework provides enhanced protection against cyber threats while maintaining scalability for large networks,” Landrum explains. “Our solution is lightweight, with minimal overhead, making it suitable for real-world deployment.”
“As SDN is increasingly deployed, ensuring data integrity and security is more important than ever,” says Dr. Debashis Das, postdoctoral fellow at Meharry SACS and key contributor to the contributor.
“Our solution offers an effective way to address these challenges, providing a lightweight, scalable, and real-world-ready framework.”
Forward-thinking research
Moving forward, the research team plans to test the framework in real-world SDN deployments and explore its integration with AI-driven threat detection systems.
“This blockchain-powered framework improves SDN security by enabling safe data handling and resource sharing, without unnecessary complexity,” says Dr. Ghosh, a key mentor on the project. Landrum and her team’s work will continue to be developed in Dr. Ghosh’s Data-Driven Intelligence and Security for Cyber-physical Systems (DISCS) Lab to further enhance the security and intelligence of smart network infrastructures.
“We are thrilled that the work was presented at IEEE GLOBECOM 2024 and look forward to its potential impact on developing secure and scalable smart infrastructures.”
