A Trust-Aware Blockchain Framework with Deception-Based Edge Nodes for Secure and Scalable IoT Healthcare Systems

TAB-DEN: A Quantum-Resistant, Trust-Aware, and Deception-Enabled Security Architecture for Resource-Constrained Healthcare IoT

D. V.; Kalpesh Popat· Discover Internet of Things· 2026· DOI 10.1007/s43926-026-00351-5

The core problem

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in healthcare has introduced critical vulnerabilities, including unauthorized access, identity spoofing, and data tampering in distributed medical networks. Existing security models rely on centralized authentication, lack quantum resistance, and offer no proactive mechanism for isolating attackers. This paper proposes TAB-DEN (Trust-Aware Blockchain with Deception-Based Edge Nodes), a framework designed to deliver scalable, intelligent, and quantum-resistant security for IoT healthcare systems. TAB-DEN combines permissioned blockchain, hierarchical edge computing, and deception-based honeypot nodes to address these gaps. The core innovation lies in its ability to dynamically assess trust, redirect suspicious traffic to decoy environments, and immutably record intrusion events using a lattice-based post-quantum signature scheme. The framework targets resource-constrained healthcare IoT devices, aiming to provide real-time security without compromising performance.

Experimental evaluation demonstrates that TAB-DEN outperforms existing schemes in search efficiency, scalability, and privacy protection. Notably, the framework reduces encryption and decryption computational overhead by nearly 40% compared to baseline approaches. This reduction is critical for resource-constrained IoT devices, enabling real-time security operations. The use of lattice-based cryptography ensures resistance to quantum attacks, future-proofing the system. Scalability tests show that TAB-DEN maintains performance as the number of devices increases, thanks to its hierarchical edge architecture and lightweight consensus. Privacy protection is enhanced through decentralized authentication and the inability to tamper with recorded events. The deception mechanism successfully isolates attackers without affecting legitimate healthcare services, as confirmed by simulated intrusion scenarios. Overall, TAB-DEN achieves a balance between security, performance, and resource efficiency, making it suitable for large-scale healthcare IoT deployments.

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in healthcare has introduced critical vulnerabilities, including unauthorized access, identity spoofing, and data tampering in distributed medical networks. Existing security models rely on centralized authentication, lack quantum resistance, and offer no proactive mechanism for isolating attackers. This paper proposes TAB-DEN (Trust-Aware Blockchain with Deception-Based Edge Nodes), a framework designed to deliver scalable, intelligent, and quantum-resistant security for IoT healthcare systems. TAB-DEN combines permissioned blockchain, hierarchical edge computing, and deception-based honeypot nodes to address these gaps. The core innovation lies in its ability to dynamically assess trust, redirect suspicious traffic to decoy environments, and immutably record intrusion events using a lattice-based post-quantum signature scheme. The framework targets resource-constrained healthcare IoT devices, aiming to provide real-time security without compromising performance.

TAB-DEN employs a permissioned blockchain with Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus to enable decentralized, tamper-proof authentication. The architecture is hierarchical, consisting of a Primary Edge Server (PES) and multiple Secondary Edge Servers (SES). Trust scores are computed in real-time based on device behavior and network context. Requests are routed according to trustworthiness: legitimate traffic proceeds normally, while suspicious requests are silently redirected to Deception-Based Edge Nodes (DBENs). DBENs are virtual honeypot-like environments that attract, isolate, and profile attackers without disrupting legitimate services. All intrusion events are authenticated using the Trust-Aware Blockchain-based Signature Scheme (TABS), a lattice-based post-quantum cryptographic scheme that ensures attack records are immutable and verifiable on the distributed ledger. The trust score T_{d} for a device d is updated as:

The integration of trust-aware routing, blockchain, and deception-based honeypots represents a significant advancement in IoT healthcare security. TAB-DEN addresses key limitations of centralized models by distributing trust and authentication across edge nodes and a permissioned blockchain. The use of Proof of Authority consensus ensures fast, energy-efficient transactions, which is essential for real-time healthcare applications. The post-quantum signature scheme (TABS) not only secures intrusion logs but also future-proofs the system against quantum computing threats. The ~40% reduction in cryptographic overhead is a direct result of the lattice-based scheme's efficiency and the hierarchical edge design, which offloads heavy computations from end devices. The deception mechanism provides proactive defense by diverting attackers to decoy nodes, allowing continuous profiling and threat intelligence gathering. However, the framework's reliance on edge servers introduces potential single points of failure, which could be mitigated through redundancy. Future work could explore adaptive trust models and integration with 5G/6G networks. Overall, TAB-DEN offers a robust, scalable, and quantum-resistant security solution for IoT healthcare, with demonstrated improvements in efficiency and privacy.

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