How Blockchain can help prevent data leaks in the future

Data breaches have become all too common in recent years. It is an example of a well-known corporate corporation exposing its users' personal information to a third party. A successful cyber-attack can be the cause of a company's demise. Data breaches are not only a main source of a target company's negative reputation, but they also result in significant financial losses. Furthermore, by exposing their clients' personal information to identity theft, they destroy their clients' confidence.

When personal information such as names, addresses, bank account numbers, and social security numbers is stored in secure systems, it becomes a natural target for cybercriminals. As a result, this procedure leads to a data breach.

There are a few distinguishing characteristics of blockchain technology −

• Decentralization
• Immutability

A blockchain is a digital ledger of data records that is constantly increasing. A list like this is made up of several data blocks that are structured in chronological order and connected and guarded by cryptographic proofs. The Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and open digital ledger that keeps a permanent record (chain of blocks) of all previously validated transactions.

Blockchain transactions take place in a globally dispersed network of peer-to-peer computers (nodes). Each node keeps a copy of the Blockchain and contributes to the network's functionality and security. The Blockchain, as a distributed ledger technology, is purposefully built to be very resistant to tampering and fraud (such as double-spending). This is because the Bitcoin blockchain, as a database of records, cannot be changed or tampered with without an impractical amount of electricity and computational power - meaning the network can enforce the concept of "original" digital documents, making each Bitcoin a very unique and uncopyable form of digital currency.

Decentralized Network

Because most networks had the disadvantage of being tied to a central control unit, hacking has become relatively easy over time. This implies that a hacker must target the central command in order to obtain access to the whole system.

Blockchain, on the other hand, is a decentralized system that duplicates all information, transactions, and sensitive data to all verified members in the network at the same time. Because all stockholders are on an equal basis, this creates trust.

Everyone, in essence, has access to various degrees of information. There isn't a single employee on the network with the necessary clearance to manage data distribution. This means that there is no single point of entry for hackers to get unrestricted access to the network.

Managing Access points

Blockchain technology aims to safeguard enormous networks, which entails developing a tamper-proof system capable of giving and canceling access based on a transparent, fair decision-making process. Fortunately, this system functions on a watertight management approach, thanks to the now-operational cryptographic membership cards and a cutting-edge decentralized ledger foundation. The crypto-cards are founded on the concept that companies have different degrees of access and that each actor in the network has just the appropriate clearance level. This is still something that needs some work, but it should be able to streamline permits in the near future.

Immutability

The fact that you may store data in the cloud and not have to worry about its factual foundation is the single most essential feature in the attempt to lessen the repercussions of any data breach. By virtue of the fact that once information is placed on the network, it cannot be changed, Blockchain eliminates these problems. This is particularly beneficial since all players in the network have access to this information, making it difficult to change it unless there is cooperation.

You're looking at a system that lets each user store their data independently, with their own encryption keys that only they know about. This implies that if someone succeeds in breaking into the system, they will want each player's access keys in order to gain access to all pertinent data! Because there are so many vaults, anyone attempting to break into the data will need to know everyone's password!

Data Access Logging

Data breaches can be avoided by tracking data access on the Blockchain. It implies that whenever the corporation seeks to access the data of a client, the retrieval offers a timestamp, which is then permanently posted on the Blockchain. No one can change it in this way. Therefore, it gives complete transparency to users by allowing them full monitoring access. They may also see who has accessed their data and how many times it has been accessed.

Blockchain is easy to use and provides security

Technology provides a plethora of advantages, many of which are quite beneficial to us. We are always on the move thanks to these advantages. As a result, you may now fast advance your money in the long run. Consider this for a moment. Instead of utilizing a traditional payment method on your smartphone, you may now make use of the most up-to-date mobile applications built on the Blockchain, which means you can carry security in your pocket.

Customers may simply keep track of their financial spending, loans, and payment receipts through the application process by using the user interface. Customers may readily establish their faith in the organization in this manner since they are seeking a solution to their problem.

Example

Rather than asking someone to physically turn in documents for verification, the institute can use technology to maintain digital versions of the documents (data that colleges and universities are mandated to send over anyway). The regulator can grant view-only access to enterprises, institutes, and corporations who can simply match the submitted document against the database because there is no ability to modify the data.

This might be taken a step further by including a QR code for each document that anybody may scan and compare to the original. This use case already has a practical implementation, with platforms like Certifaction providing such services.

We could have avoided not only the long and tedious process of document verification but also the mental agony of knowing that the scammers were almost successful in siphoning off all of our money if we had used and leveraged the security of blockchain protection technology, particularly the privacy and data privacy features.

Privacy

How can a permissionless public blockchain maintain user privacy is a frequently questioned subject. How can we ensure that personal user data remains private if the database is readily auditable by anyone?

This misunderstanding is analogous to businesses' initial mistrust of the Internet. Will my whole organization's data become public if I link to the Internet, which is a public web connecting the entire world? Of course, the answer is no. Data does not have to be public to rely on public infrastructure. Firewalls, for example, are used to regulate data access on the Internet. Similarly, utilizing a number of methods, access to private data is regulated on a public blockchain. Hashing sensitive data, encrypting it, or relying on zero-knowledge proofs to offer specific guarantees about the underlying data without revealing the data itself are some of these options.