Blockchain-based privacy preservation for supply chains supporting lightweight multi-hop information accountability

• Published in: Information processing & management 2021-05, Vol.58 (3), p.102529, Article 102529
• Main Authors: Bader, Lennart, Pennekamp, Jan, Matzutt, Roman, Hedderich, David, Kowalski, Markus, Lücken, Volker, Wehrle, Klaus
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accountability; Attribute-based encryption; Blockchain; Cryptography; e.GO; Information flow; Information management; Information retrieval; Information sharing; Internet of Production; Literature reviews; Multi-hop collaboration; Privacy; Supply chains; Tracing; Tracking; Tracking and tracing
• ISSN: 0306-4573; 1873-5371
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ipm.2021.102529

The benefits of information sharing along supply chains are well known for improving productivity and reducing costs. However, with the shift toward more dynamic and flexible supply chains, privacy concerns severely challenge the required information retrieval. A lack of trust between the different involved stakeholders inhibits advanced, multi-hop information flows, as valuable information for tracking and tracing products and parts is either unavailable or only retained locally. Our extensive literature review of previous approaches shows that these needs for cross-company information retrieval are widely acknowledged, but related work currently only addresses them insufficiently. To overcome these concerns, we present PrivAccIChain, a secure, privacy-preserving architecture for improving the multi-hop information retrieval with stakeholder accountability along supply chains. To address use case-specific needs, we particularly introduce an adaptable configuration of transparency and data privacy within our design. Hence, we enable the benefits of information sharing as well as multi-hop tracking and tracing even in supply chains that include mutually distrusting stakeholders. We evaluate the performance of PrivAccIChain and demonstrate its real-world feasibility based on the information of a purchasable automobile, the e.GO Life. We further conduct an in-depth security analysis and propose tunable mitigations against common attacks. As such, we attest PrivAccIChain’s practicability for information management even in complex supply chains with flexible and dynamic business relationships. •Today’s supply chain architectures neglect multi-hop tracking and tracing.•Dynamic business relationships mandate a careful assessment of transparency and privacy.•ABE and a blockchain can resolve accountability and privacy issues in such environments.•A real-world evaluation shows promising potential for tomorrow’s supply chains.