Abstract Title
An SGX-Based Consensus Protocol for Healthcare
Additional Funding Sources
This research was supported by a National Science Foundation Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) REU, Grant No. 2051127.
Abstract
Healthcare intuitions have switched over from the physical paper patient records once used. Healthcare institutions now use digital records called electronic health records, or EHRs for short. These records are kept in central distributed database management systems (DDMS) found within each healthcare institution. While DDMS work well enough, there are issues. Issues such as patients being unable to access EHR and inefficient transfer of records between institutions. What we propose to solve these problems is the use of SGX and blockchain technology. We developed and SGX-based consensus protocol for healthcare blockchain. EHRs will be stored on the blockchain which will improve security by ridding the need for third party administrator, and accessibly of records between institutions as the records will be stored on the blockchain. Our protocol will make use of quorums for the block creation process. A quorum is a group of nodes assigned as miners to create a block that will be sent out to the network to be voted on. The quorum selection process is where the SGX technology lies. SGX technology allows the creation of secure enclaves. It is within these enclaves that we securely generated a random number for the use of quorum selection process. Thus, our protocol is secure and fit for dealing with EHRs.
An SGX-Based Consensus Protocol for Healthcare
Healthcare intuitions have switched over from the physical paper patient records once used. Healthcare institutions now use digital records called electronic health records, or EHRs for short. These records are kept in central distributed database management systems (DDMS) found within each healthcare institution. While DDMS work well enough, there are issues. Issues such as patients being unable to access EHR and inefficient transfer of records between institutions. What we propose to solve these problems is the use of SGX and blockchain technology. We developed and SGX-based consensus protocol for healthcare blockchain. EHRs will be stored on the blockchain which will improve security by ridding the need for third party administrator, and accessibly of records between institutions as the records will be stored on the blockchain. Our protocol will make use of quorums for the block creation process. A quorum is a group of nodes assigned as miners to create a block that will be sent out to the network to be voted on. The quorum selection process is where the SGX technology lies. SGX technology allows the creation of secure enclaves. It is within these enclaves that we securely generated a random number for the use of quorum selection process. Thus, our protocol is secure and fit for dealing with EHRs.