Discover How Blockchain Can Improve Information Security

By Kapil Gauhar

Blockchain might have been an unknown term in any era, but at present, it has sparked the global hype.

As indicated by Transparency Market Research, blockchain’s value is anticipated to reach $20 billion by the year 2024. Undoubtedly, this technology has an extraordinary potential to cut costs, particularly for financial firms.

Where many technologies face some security issues, blockchain is all different. By far, it has not confronted any potential data security threat, but it is not a panacea. It can offer numerous advantages to the business, but before adopting any new technology, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of it.

Blockchain has a few critical points that emphasize on a clear strategy and strong cause to adopt it. Let’s look at some of the distinct data security advantages of blockchain technology.

Decentralization

Data storage in a single location doesn’t happen with blockchain. Instead, this technology breaks the data into small pieces and distributes it across the network of computers. Owing to this decentralized management, blockchain prevents data loss in such a way that every computer or node reserves a complete copy of the digital ledger for the transaction.

This mitigates the requirement for 3rd party assistance amid the transaction process. The risk of the middleman isn’t there with blockchain, and you don’t need to rely on your vendor or service provider.

Verification and Encryption

Blockchain uses encryption for everything retained into it. This is what makes it also possible to prove that the data hasn’t been changed. The data is available across the network of computers, and one can check the file signatures too.

This way, anyone can check if there has been any alteration. In case, if something is changed, the signature goes as invalid.

The validation and encryption process enables you to maintain the unaltered data with the 3rd party cloud vendors even for years to come. Using blockchain’s DLT system, anyone can get reliable yet independent data verification.

Option to Maintain Private or Public

There are two sorts of blockchain: Public Blockchain and Private Blockchain. This option makes a striking difference and a plethora of options for individuals for detailed knowledge.

Public blockchain has the anonymity factor as well, but, on the other hand, private blockchain only gives access to a particular user. Private blockchain users can obtain the advantages of a P2P network, but the privileged access is given only after the identity authentication. Also, this sort of blockchain could be limited to some specific transactions.

Conventional data repositories and networks are dependably at risk of Cyber Attack. Hackers could easily get access, alter the information and corrupt the entire network. This is because all the data is stored at a single location.

However, it is almost impossible to hack blockchain. With the validation, encryption and decentralization across the entire network, blockchain lowers the risk of alteration. If there’s any change made on a block, it could be easily noticed, and the signature is invalidated.

Is Everything Good?

These InfoSec enhancements are useful, but there exist some limitations and issues with blockchain. Yes, that’s true!

One basic thing to keep in mind is the network coverage. You could be victimized by a Cyber Attack if your data isn’t well-dispersed throughout the network of computers.

For blockchain to work effectively, it’s imperative to consider the bandwidth requirements and large network communication expense.

But, we can say that blockchain has potentially incited a positive impact on data security world.