Blockchain-empowered contact tracing for COVID-19 using crypto-spatiotemporal information

Zheng Wen, Keping Yu, Xin Qi, Toshio Sato, Yutaka Katsuyama, Takuro Sato, Wataru Kameyama, Fumivuki Kato, Yang Cao, Masatoshi Yoshikawa, Min Luo, Jun Hashimoto

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The pandemic of the COVID-19 [1] has reawakened people that viruses are still the greatest threat to human society. Quarantining the patients and tracking close contacts has been used for hundreds of years in the battle between humans and the plague, which are still useful today. In the information society, we can employ information communications technology (ICT) to suppress the spread of epidemics and lower the epidemic curve. By using spatiotemporal information, we can trace the trajectories of patients and their close contacts. However, spatiotemporal information also involves personal privacy, and it has become a topic of concern about whether people's privacy should be sacrificed for epidemic control. In this paper, we propose a close contact tracing solution based on crypto-spatiotemporal information (CSI). First, the solution encrypts spatiotemporal information to protect personal privacy. Then, it uses a blockchain platform to realize the proof of CSI and uses Intel SGX [2] based trusted execution environment [3] to perform close contact judgment. Finally, it can trace close contacts while protecting personal privacy. The evaluation results indicate that the advantages and efficiency of the proposed scheme are significant.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2020 IEEE International Conference on E-Health Networking, Application and Services, HEALTHCOM 2020
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728162676
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Mar 1
Event22nd IEEE International Conference on E-Health Networking, Application and Services, HEALTHCOM 2020 - Shenzhen, China
Duration: 2021 Mar 12021 Mar 2

Publication series

Name2020 IEEE International Conference on E-Health Networking, Application and Services, HEALTHCOM 2020

Conference

Conference22nd IEEE International Conference on E-Health Networking, Application and Services, HEALTHCOM 2020
Country/TerritoryChina
CityShenzhen
Period21/3/121/3/2

Keywords

  • Blockchain
  • COVID-19
  • Close contact tracing
  • Component
  • Crypto-spatiotemporal information (CSI)
  • Trusted execution environment (TEE)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Information Systems and Management
  • Health Informatics
  • Health(social science)

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