5 benefits of blockchain cybersecurity
- Decentralized Data Storage
Blockchain technologies can be used to create applications that allow their users to store data in a decentralized manner. More specifically, the data to be stored is sharded and stored in a large number of nodes.
The process of splitting data in this way is also known as sharding.
Thus, if one block of data gets hacked, the other blocks remain protected. If each piece of data is copied across multiple blocks, no data will be lost forever, even if one block is compromised.
- blockchain provides protection against DDoS attacks
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are attacks designed to disrupt normal network, service, or server traffic by overloading the target with Internet traffic.
DDoS attacks are based on the fact that the target is a single point of receipt of information, which can be easily overwhelmed if it is flooded with a large number of points sending information. Blockchain technologies can eliminate the need for a centralized server.
Hackers wishing to use DDoS attacks against a decentralized network must disperse the attack traffic. This, in turn, will greatly reduce the likelihood of success of their DDoS attacks.
- Strengthening Internet of Things (IoT) security technologies
Marketing studies show that the number of devices connected to the IoT will grow from 27 billion in 2017 to 125 billion in 2030.
This means that hackers will have more opportunities to launch attacks on IoT technologies. Such attacks can be particularly damaging because an attack on a single IoT device can allow hackers to control an entire set of interconnected IoT devices.
- Enabling the use of digital credentials
The use of passwords is a common method of verifying the identity of users. One major disadvantage of passwords is that they are stored in a centralized system.
Thus, even very strong passwords can become ineffective if the system in which they are stored is compromised. Blockchain technologies make it possible to create decentralized digital identities that are independent of any third party.
For example, LegallyChained.com allows its users to create personal identities based on blockchain, while ensuring their privacy.
- Protecting private messaging apps
Private messaging apps are used by millions of users every day. Skype alone has 300 million users per month.
WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion active users.
While many believe that most of today’s private messaging apps are fairly secure, this is far from the case.
For example, numerous Internet sources have announced that contractors check audio recordings of Skype conversations without obtaining the conversations’ participants’ permission.
Microsoft has publicly acknowledged this practice, stating in its privacy policy that Microsoft uses “both automated and manual (human) methods of processing” personal data collected through Skype.
Decentralized, blockchain-based private messaging applications allow their users not only to encrypt their messages, but also to divide each message into small pieces of data and store those pieces in different locations.
This means that no third party will have access to the messages. If a third party wants such access, it must overcome serious obstacles, namely collecting fragmented and encrypted data from blockchain nodes and finding the secret key needed to decrypt it.
Blockchain technologies enable innovative features in private messaging applications. For example, the Baemail app can be used to prioritize each message exchanged through the app and categorize messages received.
This allows users to focus only on important messages and ignore low-value messages, which are likely to be spam messages.