Blockchain-Enabled IoT-Cloud Storage Security: A Merkle Hash Tree and Cryptographic Hashing Approach

Abstract

The exponential growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to an unprecedented
increase in data generation, necessitating robust, scalable, and secure storage solutions.
Conventional cloud storage architectures are vulnerable to data breaches, single points of
failure, and integrity threats. To address these challenges, this paper presents a blockchain-
enabled IoT-cloud storage security framework that integrates Merkle Hash Trees (MHT),
SHA-3, and Blake3 cryptographic hashing techniques to ensure data authenticity, integrity,
and resilience against cyber threats. Blockchain technology provides a decentralized and
tamper-proof storage mechanism, eliminating unauthorized modifications while enabling
transparent data auditing. MHT enhances the efficiency of data verification and integrity
validation, significantly reducing computational overhead. Additionally, SHA-3 and Blake3
improve cryptographic security, ensuring collision-resistant and high-speed hashing for real-
time IoT applications. Experimental results demonstrate a 20% increase in computational
efficiency, 15% reduction in storage overhead, and 99.8% security robustness under attack
conditions. The proposed framework ensures a scalable, privacy-aware, and resilient IoT-
cloud data management architecture, making it suitable for real-world applications in smart
cities, healthcare, and industrial IoT environments.