What Is Blockchain Technology and How Can It Keep You Secure?

Blockchain technology has only been around for about a decade, but it’s already becoming one of the most prevalent cybersecurity technologies around. The use of blockchain is most widely associated with Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, offering a more secure way of sending payments from one party to another.

Read More: Bitcoin Scams Are Coming Your Way

However, the technology has other applications that could help with your cybersecurity needs.

What Is Blockchain Technology?
The concept of a block is a digital ledger that stores anything from cryptocurrencies to medical information, voting records, or other types of transactions. A blockchain is the combination of several blocks containing multiple records about a particular topic. The technology is effective when dealing with encrypted pieces of information, such as cryptocurrencies.

In the cryptocurrency world, blockchain technology processes these encrypted transactions by solving complicated math problems, which become more complex as the blockchain grows in size. Programmers who solve these equations are rewarded with cryptocurrency in a process called ‘mining’. The technology is seen as a solid alternative to traditional bank transactions because it can keep personal information confidential.

How Can It Help You?
A rising problem with cybersecurity is the increasing complexity of cyberattacks, which are usually geared towards stealing financial data, personal information, intellectual property or health records. Criminals obtain this information through phishing scams, DDoS attacks, ransomware or by blackmailing victims in sophisticated ways.

Blockchain technology can help detect fraudulent activity by encrypting data that may otherwise be out in the open. The encryption process makes it harder to detect a point of entry for hackers because information on these digital ledgers is decentralized, meaning they are stored in numerous databases around the world rather than in one location.

This makes it harder for hackers to tap into a single database that contains vast amounts of your transactions.

No Passwords Necessary
With blockchain technology one day becoming the norm, you may not need a password to access your data, which is a plus since current authentication methods are susceptible to cyberattacks. This technology instead creates a security system that can only be accessed with a distributed public key. In other words, an SSL certificate is provided instead of a password, making it nearly impossible for attackers to use fake certificates.

Until blockchain becomes a reality, for now you’ll have to keep fighting cyberattacks the old fashioned way — with antivirus software and strong password combinations.