In today’s society, the recent breach of US credit reporting giant Equifax that compromised personal data of up to 143.7 million people is not a new thing.
These massive security breaches and their subsequent exposure to criminals of the customer’s data are now commonplace. Internet security protocol and procedure are becoming more sophisticated, which means that those trying to beat them will also become better equipped. The big losers in this case are as usual, Consumers.
If the Equifax breach – like so many before it – tells us one thing, it is that the centralized model of data storage is outmoded, unsafe and represents a rotten deal for anyone who wants their personal information kept safe online.
If we want to keep data on every facet of our life out of criminals’ hands, this situation must change.
Decentralised Protection
One solution that is being increasingly talked about is blockchain – familiar to many as the platform for digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Web security experts are optimistic that blockchain could lead to a more effective set of defenses against malware and hackers.
The chaos caused by a coordinated attack against a central infrastructure was illustrated in October last year when millions of people were temporarily locked out from their PayPal, Netflix, and Twitter accounts.
Blockchains are a better way to store information, as they remove this large target. This makes it more difficult for hackers to find a weak spot in the system. As blockchains don’t require any caching, the DNS system is less vulnerable to DDoS attack and outside manipulation.
Guardtime is using Keyless Signature Infrastructure, developed in Estonia. KSI is a replacement to the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which relies heavily on centralized caching and storage. Using blockchain technology, the use of passwords – so often a principal target of hackers and malware – will become obsolete, whilst valuable data can be distributed across multiple blockchains. It will be nearly impossible to gather data efficiently with this technology.
The Future is Safer
The blockchain-based system will eliminate centralized storage, and the human element from the equation. This is a major step in eliminating the weak spots that hackers use.
It is unlikely that the fight to safeguard our online data or ourselves will end anytime soon. The blockchain technology is taking control of the Internet from criminals.