Blockchain could potentially help enhance cyber-defense as the platform can prevent fraudulent activities via consensus mechanism.
The high level of dependency on the internet and technology today has resulted in new revenue streams and business models for organizations, but with this arises new gaps and opportunities for hackers to exploit.
Cybercriminals have become increasingly complex and are attempting to steal valuable data like financial data, health records, personal identifiable information (PII) and intellectual property, and are resorting to highly profitable strategies like disrupting the overall operations of a business via DDoS attacks, or monetizing data access via the utilization of advanced ransomware techniques.
So, will blockchain technology be a cybersecurity help or hindrance? A blockchain is basically a decentralized, digitized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions and uses what is known as the Distributed Ledger Technology. This could potentially help enhance cyber-defense as the platform can prevent fraudulent activities via consensus mechanisms, and detect data tampering depending on its underlying characteristics of operational resilience, data encryption, auditability, transparency and immutability
Blockchain resolves the ‘lack of trust’ problem between counterparties at a very basic level. Blockchain is a distributed database used in both private and public applications rather than a centralized structure where all the information is stored in few very large databases. The data pertaining to each batch of valid transactions is stored within its own block; every block is connected to the block which is situated in the position before it and grows continuously as new blocks of information are appended.
Owing to their distributed nature, blockchains provide no ‘hackable’ entrance or a central point of failure and, thereby, provide more security when compared with various present database-driven transactional structures.
Eliminating Human Factor from Authentication
Businesses are able to authenticate devices and users without the need for a password with the help of blockchain technology. This eliminates human intervention from the process of authentication, thereby avoiding it from becoming a potential attack vector.
The utilization of a centralized architecture and simple logins are the big weakness of conventional systems. No matter how much money an organization invests in security, all these efforts go in vain if the employees and customers use passwords that are easy to steal or crack. Blockchain offers strong authentication and resolving single point of attack at the same time.
With the help of blockchain, a security system used in an organization can leverage a distributed public key infrastructure for authenticating devices and users. This security system provides each device with a specific SSL certificate instead of a password. Management of certificate data is carried out on the blockchain and this makes it virtually impossible for attackers to utilize fake certificates.
Source/More: The Role of Blockchain in Cybersecurity – Infosecurity Magazine
