How is Blockchain Reinventing Cybersecurity and Deeply Protecting the Digital Landscape? – Cryptopolite

As the digital age progresses, the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks threaten our privacy, financial systems and critical infrastructure. Amid this chaos, one technological innovation has emerged as a potential game changer: blockchain technology. From securing sensitive data to authenticating online identities, blockchain technology offers a myriad of applications that could profoundly affect our digital landscape.

Let’s explore the myriad of ways blockchain can improve cybersecurity across current industries, address the inherent flaws in traditional security models, and unlock new opportunities for organizations and individuals alike.

A potential solution to mitigate malicious threats

Blockchain technology gained wide recognition as the foundation of Bitcoin around a decade ago and has since been mostly associated with cryptocurrencies in the public mind. Blockchain’s decentralized, consensus-based and trustless nature makes it inherently resistant to attack.

For example, in proof-of-work validation methods such as Bitcoin, hackers must gain control of the majority of nodes to compromise ledger transactions, a computationally intensive and costly task that makes it difficult to compromise the system. By extending this computational cost to other operations within a security scheme, it becomes less necessary to rely on a trusted central authority.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks often exploit Internet domain name servers (DNS), which map IP addresses to human-readable website names. By moving DNS to blockchain, resources can be spread across multiple nodes, making it impractical for attackers to control the database.

But simply building databases or applications on the blockchain is not enough to ensure invulnerability, given the persistence of hackers and the growing trend of cyberwarfare among governments. One approach to strengthening blockchain technology involves using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and prevent malicious data manipulation. Moreover, purpose-built AI can secure a system or database and be implemented on a more distributed model such as a blockchain application that does not require trusted nodes to maintain integrity.

Replace passwords with blockchain authentication

Passwords are undoubtedly the weakest link in today’s cyber security infrastructure. Around 80% of all cyber attacks in 2022 were caused by password breaches. Different sources offer different percentages of weak and vulnerable passwords, but it is widely agreed that passwords are an insufficient security measure for any device or software. Hackers can obtain the confidential personal information of 1.5 billion Facebook users through simple phishing and password attacks.

Understanding the password problem in cyber security

The problem with passwords is that they require frequent updates and changes, leading to overly complex combinations that are difficult to remember, resulting in users often reusing the same passwords. In addition, many users ignore basic security rules and ignore weak password warnings from software vendors. Even security professionals are not immune, with only 50% of them changing their social network passwords in the past year and 20% never changing them. Despite regular password changes, a determined hacker can eventually crack any password.

According to the Ponemon Institute, over half of regular users and IT professionals want an alternative protection method for their accounts that is simpler but secure. Blockchain authentication has the potential to be that option. Some projects allow users to create an account in the system and use that access key for other systems and software, similar to using Facebook or Google accounts for Spotify or Netflix logins.

Recognize the blockchain solution

Unlike Facebook or Google, blockchain authentication does not require passwords as it uses private keys, multi-step authentication and biometric data to verify a user’s identity, making it more secure and user-friendly.

Blockchain-based systems assign each user a public key and a private key, which are necessary for direct authentication. The blockchain stores the public key, while the user keeps the private key.

Public keys act as user identification, allowing transparent tracking of their actions on the blockchain. Meanwhile, the corresponding private keys, which must be secured on hardware devices, authenticate actions performed on the chain.

By embedding the private key on hardware devices, it is no longer stored in an application database, which is often the target of data breaches. This setup improves security and ensures full user control over their credentials, with the added benefit that the user does not necessarily need to know their private key.

In fact, several technology giants such as Civic, IBM and Microsoft are already working on blockchain-based identification solutions. Microsoft has already launched a decentralized identification system based on the blockchain network.

Stopping automated lateral movement attacks

The rise of intelligent devices and autonomous technologies has increased mobility and automated routine tasks. However, the losses due to hacking and data breaches are now unprecedented, with examples such as hacking Amazon’s Alexa or taking control of drones in Ukraine highlighting significant security gaps.

Having multiple intelligent devices increases the likelihood of hackers breaching security since they can choose their targets, and most targets lack protection against cyber threats. This has been demonstrated by Senrio Security Company, which breached an apartment or office by accessing a smartphone or security camera network. Additionally, even network privacy is of little concern since an average drone can be used to access the local network.

However, implementing a blockchain-based system can protect smart devices. Such systems are difficult to hack since hackers have to take control of 51% of the devices in the system. Moreover, blockchain technology can effectively identify inauthentic or potentially harmful commands and inputs, which are significant security holes in intelligent device systems.

Maintaining data integrity with blockchain

In today’s world, data security has become a critical concern for individuals, institutions and governments. The advent of blockchain technology has provided a solution that offers a high level of security and reliability for data storage and management.

Unlike traditional databases, data on blockchains is immutable and tamper-proof because network nodes cross-reference and build upon each other, requiring consensus to verify transactions. However, off-chain data is vulnerable to corruption, underscoring the importance of on-chain signatures to enable new blockchain use cases where data security is critical.

Three key areas where blockchain technology is being deployed to ensure data integrity include decentralized voting, health and scientific data collaboration across institutions, and decentralized metadata. With blockchain’s decentralized architecture and ability to maintain a tamper-proof record of data, it can play a critical role in ensuring the integrity and authenticity of voice recordings, patient health records and scientific research data.

Furthermore, blockchain technology can play a central role in optimizing AI in cybersecurity by providing a decentralized metadata layer for cybersecurity threat intelligence. Blockchain’s ability to ensure the integrity and authenticity of data will prove to be a critical tool in preventing cyber security threats and protecting against data breaches.

Securing DNS with decentralization

DNS (Domain Name System) works like a phone book by linking website names with IP addresses so that users can visit websites. Unfortunately, DNS is only partially decentralized, making it vulnerable to attacks that could disable websites. As a result, many internet sellers and online stores have lost clients due to temporary deactivation caused by DNS attacks.

According to research by the Neustar International Security Council in September 2021, 72% of research participants suffered from DNS attacks in the past 12 months. Common types of DNS attacks include DNS cache poisoning to redirect users to fraudulent websites, DNS amplification attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in DNS systems to amplify DDoS attacks, and DDoS attacks that overload servers, leading to total disablement of the website.

Decentralized blockchains that host DNS systems can protect against this type of DNS attack by eliminating vulnerabilities found in centralized systems. Hacking a central server, even the most protected one, is easier than hacking a blockchain with thousands of P2P nodes.

The future of blockchain in cybersecurity

The future potential of blockchain in cybersecurity is enormous, and the technology will play a crucial role in securing our digital world. The decentralization and immutability of blockchain can eliminate the need for intermediaries, reduce the risk of data breaches and improve the integrity of data.

Furthermore, blockchain-based identity management systems can provide a more secure and transparent way to verify and authenticate users, while the use of smart contracts can enable the secure and automatic execution of cybersecurity protocols. With blockchain technology continuing to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative applications and use cases emerge, revolutionizing the way we approach cyber security and protect against the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.

It is impossible to consider any cyber defense or information system as 100% secure. What is considered safe today may not be tomorrow due to the lucrative nature of cybercrime and the ability of criminals to invent new methods of attack. While blockchain technology offers features such as data confidentiality, integrity and availability, cybersecurity controls and standards must be put in place to protect organizations that incorporate blockchain into their technical infrastructure from external attacks, just as with any other system.

Conclusion

Blockchain is already becoming an integrated security practice for companies across various industries, serving as the underlying technology to secure data. Blockchain can extend beyond corporate and government data management and liability reduction, returning data ownership to users. The technology raises the bar in data security and is poised to remain the leading solution for protecting sensitive information online. Users will enjoy a simpler and safer digital life on the blockchain, reduce fraud and restore trust in online transactions.