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Blockchain could play a big role
in cybersecurity
W
e live in the information
age, where personal
data is everything and
cybersecurity is the most pressing
concern. A cyber-attack has the
potential to cause more damage and
monetary loss than a conventional
terror attack. The most common
target for hackers is data. Data
is the perhaps the most valuable
commodity today, and with the
right knowledge of its applications,
it won’t be an exaggeration to say
that data is probably as valuable as
oil or natural gas. Industries such
as telecommunication, banking,
healthcare, information technology,
financial services depend on data
integrity. With such a high value
in the current scenario, it is no
surprise that cybercriminals have
always gone after data.
Cybersecurity experts and hackers
are locked in a constant struggle
to outdo one another, emphasizing
the need for a comprehensive
security solution. Blockchain is
one technology that could be the
answer to most of the problems
plaguing cybersecurity issues. It
is a revolutionary concept that
can change the face of how we
protect data, and also has the
potential to replace banks as a
centralized authority for regulating
transactions.
Its working is somewhat elaborate,
but it promises information security
like no other. Unlike banks, data
centers, centralized servers, and
other institutions, a blockchain is a
distributed, encrypted public ledger
wherein each node in the network
contains a copy of the ledger. Every
single copy of the ledger records
every single activity and transaction
with a timestamp that cannot be
erased or tampered with without
others knowing about it. In other
words, each of the ledgers in the
blockchain network contains
entries for every single transaction,
and attempting to alter any one
of them would alert others to the
discrepancy. It is an extremely safe
technique of maintaining records
that has numerous applications.
Furthermore, blockchain also has
the potential to act as an effective
preventive measure against a
range of techniques used by
cybercriminals to disrupt systems.
Most messages sent over the
internet are encrypted using private
keys and decrypted at the receiver’s
end using the same key. If hackers
manage to gain the key, it enables
them to intercept all messages
and discern personal user IDs and
passwords, which in turn would
allow unauthorized access to vital
systems and data. Blockchain allows
organizations to use a distributed
public key system to authorize users
by their devices, where each device
is assigned a special SSL certificate.
The data for the certificates are
managed on the blockchain, making
it much harder for hackers to gain
any sort of unauthorized access.
In addition to this, Denial of Service
(DoS) is one of the most widely
used methods used by hackers
to disrupt networks. It involves
flooding a central server with a very
large number of requests, resulting
in congestion caused by network
traffic that is greater than what the
bandwidth can accommodate. It
results in websites going offline and
service disruption. Blockchain by
its very nature and decentralized
structure cannot be targeted by a
Dos attack. This goes a long way to
ensure continuity of service and
secure operations.
Blockchain is a relatively open
environment where most of the
data is available for everyone in it,
and copies of them are present on
each node. This enables all the users
involved to verify and corroborate
any information, ensuring that there
is no unauthorized modification or
deletion. What’s more is that since
every single action is recorded into
blocks that are connected to other
blocks and linked to a user, the
sequence of activities can easily be
traced back to their perpetrator.
In this way, every activity can be
verified by everyone, providing a
powerful deterrent to would-be
cybercriminals.
A brilliant application for
blockchain is carrying out financial
transactions across international
borders without central regulatory
institutions like banks. The currency
of exchange is called cryptocurrency
and is completely electronic and
ensures complete security. Many
experts, however, don’t give much
credibility to this idea, given the
size and the clout of the banking
industry. Adding to this hurdle
is the inherently unpredictable
nature of cryptocurrencies. Unlike
financial instruments like stocks
and shares, whose valuations can be
deduced, cryptocurrencies, on the
other hand, are next to impossible
to predict. This makes them rather
unreliable. But there have been
many startups that offer currency
exchanges for blockchain based
cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain is a very nascent idea
and only time will tell if it would
make a dent in cybersecurity.
SR