Blockchain-Enabled Secure Data Sharing in Cyber-Physical Systems: A Comparative Study

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are computer-based systems that combine computer-related intelligence and realworld phenomena and are actively used in such spheres as intelligent transportation, smart healthcare, industrial control, energy systems, and others. Reliable and safe information exchange between heterogeneous CPS components has been a significant obstacle because of the problem of data integrity, access control, scalability, and management of trust. The promising element to mitigate these challenges has been the blockchain technology that offers decentralized, immutable and auditable data exchange mechanisms. The paper provides a comparative analysis of data sharing solutions in CPS environments, based on blockchain-enabled secure data sharing. The paper compares various blockchain designs, consensus algorithms and data management plans with regard to security, latency, scalability and system reliability. By making comparative assessment, the paper shows the advantages and shortcomings of the currently available blockchain-based CPS solutions and makes significant design trade-offs to deploy CPS in the real world. The results have proved that blockchain can greatly contribute to transparency and trust in sharing CPS data, but lightweight and hybrid designs are needed to address the real-time and resources requirements of cyber-physical settings. The research will inform the researchers and practitioners to develop sustainable, secure, and resilient CPS data-sharing models.