Open Access

ARTICLE

Securing Mobile Cloud-Based Electronic Health Records: A Blockchain-Powered Cryptographic Solution with Enhanced Privacy and Efficiency

Umer Nauman¹, Yuhong Zhang², Zhihui Li³, Tong Zhen^1,3,*

1 Information Science and Engineering College, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
2 School of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
3 Key Laboratory of Grain Information Processing and Control, Ministry of Education, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

* Corresponding Author: Tong Zhen. Email:

Journal of Intelligent Medicine and Healthcare 2024, 2, 15-34. https://doi.org/10.32604/jimh.2024.048784

Received 18 December 2023; Accepted 21 February 2024; Issue published 11 April 2024

Abstract

The convergence of handheld devices and cloud-based computing has transformed how Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are stored in mobile cloud paradigms, offering benefits such as affordability, adaptability, and portability. However, it also introduces challenges regarding network security and data confidentiality, as it aims to exchange EHRs among mobile users while maintaining high levels of security. This study proposes an innovative blockchain-based solution to these issues and presents secure cloud storage for healthcare data. To provide enhanced cryptography, the proposed method combines an enhanced Blowfish encryption method with a new key generation technique called Elephant Herding Optimization with Resistance-Based Training (EHO-RBT). The implementation of blockchain-based solutions enhances privacy and authenticity by providing impermeable traces and ensuring validity. A comparative analysis reveals that the proposed method significantly outperforms the traditional cryptography simulations, with improved key generation times. The proposed method outperforms Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), Blowfish, advanced encryption standard (AES), elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC), whale optimization (WOA), elephant herding optimization (EHO), and moth-flame optimization (MFO) models by 51.04% to 92.64% for an average file size of about 10 kb. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed solution in terms of cryptography and key generation.

---

Keywords

---