With the increasing number of connected devices, cybersecurity is becoming an ever important issue across every primary industry. Looking at how intense some of the hacker attacks have been in the last few years, it looks like things will only get worse.
At the same time, blockchain is also one of the much-hyped words nowadays. This promising technology is marketed as a cure for everything you can think of.
With blockchain disrupting several industries including healthcare, governance, finance, banking, and more, it’s not long before we will see blockchain technology revolutionizing highly technology-oriented field – cybersecurity.
Commonly linked with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, blockchain can solve many cybersecurity problems and provide a great defense against various cyber attacks.
So, here’s how blockchain technology can fix cybersecurity.
- Holds off Hackers
There are various modes of hacks such as cybercriminals may embed malware in an email attachment, use illegal means to obtain user login details, spoof employee identities, and so on. But the basis of all these strategies is similar, which is exploiting weak points in a centralized system.
This is where blockchain comes into play. While hackers can break into the traditional networks to find the data and modify or delete it, the blockchain technology makes this unfeasibly hard. Blockchain is virtually impossible to hack. The data is encrypted, decentralized, and cross-checked by the whole network. Once the information is put on a ledger, it’s not possible to modify or delete without it being noticed and invalidating the signature.
Storing and sharing the information via distributed records make sure there is no single gateway through which hackers could steal the data.
Multiple nodes in the network confirm every transaction on this platform. To hack blockchain, you need to hack all the nodes simultaneously, which is technically impossible.
- Implements Security in Private Messaging
Conversational commerce is becoming quite popular, and a lot of metadata is collected from users during these exchanges on social media. Service like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger is getting smarter with assistants like Facebook M offering in-app support. However, there are still various weak points in terms of security.
For example, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to protect message content, but it also collects metadata, and most services require personal authentication details like an email address. This information is stored in single systems, which makes it more vulnerable to hacks and thefts.
While many platforms still use end-to-end encryption, growing companies are beginning to use blockchain to keep the information secure. They are keeping the user’s data private by decentralizing the network itself and dividing up metadata so it can’t be gathered in one place or used to hack accounts.
Moreover, most messaging apps don’t have a standard set of security protocols and unified API framework for allowing “cross-messenger” communications. Blockchain creates a new system of unified communication. This technology is the perfect way to secure all exchanges and enables connectivity between various messaging platforms.
- Safer DNS
Another way to enhance internet security is by decentralizing the domain name server or DNS system. Currently, DNS is controlled by various domain name registrars and registries, and these resolve a domain name into the IP address of the server’s physical location. But, DNS can be a potential point.
As DNS is largely centralized, hackers can break into the connection between IP address and website name. They can cash websites, make a website unavailable, and route people to scam sites. DNS attacks paired with DDoS attacks can render websites unusable for an extended period. The practical solution to such issues is to tail long files and enable real-time alerts for suspicious activities.
Blockchain can take security to the next level. As it is decentralized, it makes it difficult for hackers to find and exploit points of vulnerability. The information will be stored immutably on a distributed ledger, and immutable smart contracts will power the connection.
Final Words
With emerging technology and more and more people hopping on the internet, more data gets produced, and more hackers try to steal and corrupt the data. Thus, it creates an urgent need to secure and protect the user’s data.
The blockchain technology is versatile and useful for protecting user’s data. But we’re just beginning to explore the true potential of this technology as it is still at a stage of infancy.
However, no matter how or where it is applied, decentralization nature of blockchain technology is the major factor for disrupting many industries. When network traffic, and the data itself is no longer kept in a single location, it becomes difficult for hackers to access the data. This means more security and less vulnerability.
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