IS BLOCKCHAIN THE FUTURE?
INTRODUCTION
First introduced in 1991 by two researchers; Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta, It’s original intended purpose was to timestamp digital documents just to make it impossible to be tampered with. Fast forward to 2009, where it is first adopted by the digital currency we’ve all heard quite a lot about… BINGO I know we’re thinking of the same thing, it’s Bitcoin. Fast forward to today, where there is so many more applications of blockchains, like in space for securing highly confidential information from commercial satellites.
A blockchain is a decentralized, often public, digital ledger that exists across a network. As a public database, the main selling point is the precision and security that it offers. Instead of relying on an intermediary like governmental and financial organizations to maintain the integrity of the database, every transaction is encrypted and recorded in blocks, making it difficult to make any alterations.
TAKE A MAGNIFYING GLASS
Each block consists of 3 elements: data, hash, and the hash of a previous block.
The data stored within each block depends on the type of blockchain. In the instance of Bitcoin, this will store details of the transactions such as the time of transaction, information on the sender, receiver and the quantity of Bitcoin transferred.
Each block also has a hash. Transactions will be taken as input, and it will be run through a deterministic hashing algorithm that produces an output of fixed length. (Containing alphabets and numbers) No matter the size of the input, when fed through a hash function, the output will always have a fixed length and it is irreversible. This can be compared to the fingerprints that we all have! Each block has its very own alphanumeric identifier, and the slightest change will cause the output hash to be different! Conversely, the same input of data will of course result in the output hash to be the same.
The third element is the hash from the previous block. This element is what effectively creates the chain of blocks and preserves the integrity of the data.
HASH NOT ALL!
With these 3 aforementioned elements, these blocks are linked together in a chronological fashion to form a metaphorical chain of blocks. But as the title suggests, hash (that’s) not all!
Proof-Of-Work (POW) is a mechanism designed to slow down the creation of new blocks. The completion of these POWs is a prerequisite to confirming any transaction and adding new blocks to the blockchain.
POWs can be a rather random process with a low chance of solving, and it usually comes in the form of a mathematical puzzle. Going back to the example of Bitcoin, miners (a group of people competing with one another to complete transactions and add new blocks) will be rewarded with 6.25 Bitcoin for every successful block. (As of now) But the main point is that it requires a lot of trial and error. As such, this mechanism adds one more layer of security because if one block is altered, the POW of the following blocks also needs to be recalculated. Which sounds to be an EXTREMELY tedious process.
DECENTRALISED
The decentralized nature of blockchain is credited to the Peer-To-Peer (P2P) network. Anyone interested in being part of the process of verifying and validating each block can set up a node; and they will receive a full copy of the entire blockchain. Whether it is making changes to a block or adding a new block, there needs to be a mutual agreement amongst the nodes. (Validated by majority vote). This means that only the participants can validate the transactions for one another, eliminating the need for an intermediary.
HOW DOES IT TIE INTO CYBER SECURITY?
Thank you for staying with me thus far, I truly appreciate the support! Here's a piece of candy 🍬 Okay back to the topic on blockchains. When I think about blockchains, I immediately associate it with Bitcoin. Little did I know, this is far from its potential power… It’s a decentralized ledger technology that can used to record and track ANYTHING. You know where I’m going with this don’t you? Cyber security!
Before researching on this particular topic, my ignorant brain did not consider the dangers of cyber-attacks and scarily, the frequency of which it is happening all around the world.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Here are some notable statistics about cyber-attacks...
1. Ransomware attacks are estimated to occur every 15 seconds in 2019 (According to the Official Annual Cybercrime Report) and is expected to rise to once every 11 seconds in 2021.
Just like the name suggests, this particular cyber-attack occurs when malicious software is implanted to restrict access to confidential information until a ransom has been paid.
2. Small businesses are the primary target for cyber-attacks.
Although it’s not necessarily true that large corporations are always harder to crack, they usually have entire teams devoted to cyber security. In contrast to small businesses where resources are more limited, the measures put in place will naturally be less effective.
$4.24 MILLION per data breach incident in 2021 (According to a report from IBM and the Phonem Institute) When compared to the cost of hacking, it’s basically nothing. Cyber-attack tools are readily available for cheap prices on the dark web.
Click here for more statistics.
Data is more valuable than currency nowadays, and what makes it even more convenient for cyber-attackers is storing it in one place. Just like the fact that we have multiple credit cards and or debit cards, the same concept applies here; it is indeed wiser to put your eggs in different baskets. Currently, the Apollo data cloud that has a cryptographic access key that can be toggled on and off at any time for any authorized external third parties. It allows you to share, backup and sync data from multiple platforms. A private sharing cloud network can also be created with up to 40 members.
SOCIAL MEDIA?
4.48 billion people use social media this year, the number of social media platforms and people joining social media platforms are rising as we speak. As you can imagine, humongous amounts of data are collected from any given interaction. Earlier this year, Facebook has fallen victim to a massive cyber-attack, exposing personal information (such as their names, telephone numbers and locations) of over 533 million users! When something is online, it is near impossible to remove it. In the hands of the wrong person, the leaked information will make people susceptible to all sorts of attacks, like identity theft.
The increased adoption of blockchain in social media platforms could be the aftermath of the Facebook data leak. With the end-to-end encryption feature that most messaging services boast, it is simply not enough in this day and age. This feature means a third party or man-in-the-middle attackers cannot intercept messages. Although it sounds secure, the fact is that it does not protect your content as soon as it reaches the other party’s device. If somehow your device has been compromised, end-to-end encryption will not protect you from your exchanges with other parties. As such, with the addition of blockchain technology, it will further enhance the security of your content in your social media platforms.
One interesting concept of a social media platform that utilizes blockchain technology is SoMee. This main gist of this platform is rewarding users for creating content and simply spending time on social media with crypto rewards. This platform also claims to encourage and reward those that spread truth and will do the opposite for anything that is untrue and not verified by other users. Although it has not gained much traction since its launch, it is certainly interesting to see where it might lead!
References
