Critical Review of "Securing Critical Infrastructure
with Blockchain Technology: An Approach to Cyber-
Resilience"
As cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated, the security of
critical infrastructure becomes a major concern for governments,
industries, and security professionals. The study by Govea, Gaibor-
Naranjo, & Villegas-Ch (2024) explores how blockchain technology can
enhance cyber-resilience by leveraging immutability, decentralization, and
transparency to protect vital systems from malicious attacks. This review
critically evaluates the paper’s contributions, strengths, and weaknesses,
offering insights into future research directions.
The study investigates the role of blockchain in securing critical
infrastructure, particularly in environments where centralized security
models face vulnerabilities such as data tampering, unauthorized access,
and single points of failure. The authors present a literature review, use-
case analysis, and prototype evaluation to assess blockchain’s feasibility
in mitigating cyber threats. The study highlights blockchain’s ability to
provide tamper-proof logging, distributed data security, and trustless
transactions, reinforcing its potential as a resilient cybersecurity measure.
The paper addresses pressing security concerns in critical
infrastructure, acknowledging the increasing frequency of cyberattacks on
sectors like energy grids, transportation systems, financial services, and
healthcare. The integration of blockchain as a security mechanism is
timely and relevant.
Blockchain technology has primarily been explored in financial
applications, but this paper extends its use to infrastructure security,
opening new avenues for research and implementation. The proposed
approach aligns with ongoing efforts to decentralize security frameworks
for more robust resilience.
Unlike purely theoretical studies, the authors assess blockchain’s
practical performance through prototype testing, offering empirical
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insights into real-world feasibility. This strengthens the argument for
blockchain adoption beyond conceptual discussions.
Despite its contributions, the study has several limitations:
Scalability Concerns – While blockchain provides strong security
features, its scalability in large-scale critical infrastructure remains
questionable. High-performance infrastructure systems require
low-latency, high-throughput solutions, which traditional
blockchain architectures struggle to deliver due to consensus
mechanisms and computational overhead.
Interoperability Challenges – Many critical infrastructure
systems rely on legacy technology that may not seamlessly
integrate with blockchain frameworks. The paper does not
sufficiently address interoperability challenges, particularly
concerning how blockchain can be effectively incorporated into
existing infrastructure without excessive implementation costs or
disruptions.
Regulatory & Legal Barriers – The study overlooks regulatory
constraints, which are crucial in government-controlled
infrastructure like power grids, healthcare systems, and
emergency response networks. Compliance with security policies,
data protection laws, and governance models could hinder
blockchain’s widespread adoption.
Energy Consumption Concerns – Blockchain-based security
solutions, particularly those using proof-of-work (PoW) consensus
mechanisms, often require high computational power, leading to
significant energy consumption. In sustainability-conscious
infrastructure, this could pose operational challenges. Exploring
alternative consensus mechanisms—such as proof-of-stake (PoS)
or directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)—would have strengthened the
study’s applicability.
The paper by Govea et al. (2024) provides valuable insights into
blockchain’s role in critical infrastructure cybersecurity, emphasizing its
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potential for tamper-proof security and decentralized resilience. However,
scalability, interoperability, regulatory, and energy concerns present major
adoption challenges that require further investigation. Future research
should focus on enhancing blockchain’s practicality, ensuring it becomes a
viable solution for securing complex infrastructure networks without
compromising efficiency or accessibility
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