COBATS: A Novel Consortium Blockchain-Based Trust Model for Data Sharing in Vehicular Networks

Achieving efficient and secure shared data in vehicular networks is important for the development of smart transportation. Sharing data among intelligent vehicles not only enriches vehicle services but also improves traffic safety and efficiency. However, due to the specific nature of vehicular networks, security and privacy concerns prevent data providers from participating in the data sharing process. In addition, the quality of the data shared in the vehicular network is uneven and unreliable, and the reliability and authenticity of data sharing need to be further improved. In this paper, we propose a novel consortium blockchain-based trust model in vehicular networks (COBATS) to achieve secure storage and data sharing. To improve the quality of data sharing, we also design a trust management model capable of filtering malicious recommendations, which reduces the hazard of malicious nodes and ensures high-quality data sharing among vehicles. Moreover, we present a consensus mechanism with joint Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) to reduce resource consumption and improve the algorithm’s efficiency. The simulation results show that COBATS can improve the security and quality of data sharing. Furthermore, our model also can effectively handle certain attacks.