The beauty of the Blockchain

In this era of the internet, almost all of our data is stored online as we concede our private information to the platforms that we use on a daily basis. People are usually unaware of which of their personal data is being stored on the internet database. The security of personal data, especially the details that are stored online, is a human right. But it has actually been deteriorating in recent years.

Fortunately, there is a reliable solution for all of these issues – Blockchain Technology. I don’t know about you, but hearing that anything is the “reliable” immediately makes me skeptical.

Blockchain, at its core, is all about security and powering tamper-proof virtual transactions that hold up in the real world. Blockchain technology provides a spectrum of revolutionary benefits. Proponents of blockchain consider it to be one of the best ways to secure transactions. You might be wondering how exactly does Blockchain provide security? Let’s take a look.

One of the major issues faced by internet users today lies in their ability and knowledge of who they can and cannot trust. This constant need for managing trust has become a big business for some large companies. The whole point of blockchain is to let people who don’t trust each other, share valuable data securely.

A Blockchain, as the name suggests, is a chain of digital “blocks” containing a record of all the transactions. All these blocks are connected to one another which makes it much more difficult to tamper with one record. Since the hacker would have to change the block containing the record as well as all the other blocks linked to it in order to avoid detection. This alone might not seem like much of a deterrence, but Blockchain has other inherent characteristics as well that can provide additional means of security – cryptographic fingerprint unique to each block, and a “consensus protocol,” by which the nodes in the network agree on a shared history.

The fingerprint, called a hash, takes a lot of time and energy to generate. It serves as proof that the miner who added the block to the blockchain did the computational work. It also serves as a seal, since altering the block would now require generating a new hash. Verifying whether the hash matches its block is easy and once the nodes do it they update their respective copies of the blockchain with the new block. This is the consensus protocol.

The final security element is that the hashes serve as links in the blockchain. Every block includes the hash for the previous block. So if an entry in the ledger needs to be changed, a new hash needs to be calculated not only for the block it is in but also for every subsequent block. Hence, in order to corrupt a blockchain, a hacker would have to destroy the data stored on every user’s computer in the global network which could be in millions. The impossibility of taking down a whole chain increases along with the number of users on a network. Bigger blockchain networks have an infinitely lower risk of getting attacked by hackers because they are very complex to penetrate.

Furthermore, with the utilization of smart contracts (the contracts are written in code and embedded onto a particular blockchain), there is no disputing whether a party fulfilled obligations as doing so is automated against clearly defined terms. This removes the notion of disputing contracts.

A simple example of a smart contract would be renting an apartment. A blockchain application, allowing for a smart contract when a tenant collects their keys, can be created. This guarantees the tenant access to the property without being dependent on the landlord. Also, it ensures that the landlord gets paid once this action has taken place. This removes the chance of either party disputing that the other action took place.

As more people engage with the world wide web and technology continues to develop, more data gets produced every day and more hackers will attempt to steal it. The Blockchain is versatile and incredibly useful for the future of the Internet, allowing users to secure their data better.

Innovative uses of Blockchain are becoming a part of other fields beyond cryptocurrencies and it can be useful especially to boost cybersecurity. By implementing rigorous encryption and data distribution protocols on a network, any business can ensure that their information will remain safe and out of the hacker’s reach.

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KnowTechie Staff