How blockchain is laying the foundation for the next generation of cybersecurity

And NFTs have captured the public imagination like no other crypto application. However, the big questions posed by this bull run remain. Are we seeing the start of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies? There are still some hurdles on the way for the general public to truly adopt products like DeFi. Security is one of the biggest hurdles.

It is worth remembering that Bitcoin was only created in 2009. Despite incredible progress and growth over the past 13 years, cryptocurrencies have not been without their problems. Controversies like the 2014 theft of 850,000 bitcoins by MT Got (worth $450 million then, $46 billion today) have shaken confidence in cryptocurrencies as reliable, secure stores of value. The problem with cryptocurrencies rising so quickly is that all the growing pains associated with new technology and untested are still a recent thing.

News | Over 30,000 companies across the country contain the word "blockchain" in their names, business scope or product information: Jinse Finance reported that the "2019 China Blockchain Company Development Census Report" released recently shows that as of the end of October 2019 , a total of 31,172 companies across the country contain the word "blockchain" in their name/former name, business scope or product information (name). According to the Tianyancha database, there are 268 Sichuan enterprises whose business scope includes “blockchain”. Attention, research and development, and use of blockchain have become a trend. [2020/1/3]

However, thefts like this do demonstrate the weakness of centralized entities. In general, decentralized currencies are always safe as long as their private keys are managed properly. Therefore, the challenge for new cryptocurrency security projects is how to take advantage of decentralized security and make it easily accessible and usable by the general public. More recently, blockchains have begun to demonstrate the effectiveness of decentralized security in cryptocurrencies and beyond.

Voice | Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: Promoting the great development of the digital economy must combine new technologies such as blockchain: Jinse Finance reported that the World 5G Conference "2019 International Symposium on Future Information and Communication Technology" was held yesterday. At the seminar, Yin Hao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an expert in the field of communication networks, said that to promote the great development of the digital economy, we should not rely solely on 5G alone, but also combine new technologies such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Only in this way can we subvert some traditional industries, realize industrial upgrading and transformation, incubate new applications, and give birth to new formats. [2019/11/21]

New Applications of Blockchain

Philips Healthcare is partnering with hospitals around the world to pair artificial intelligence and blockchain to create a new healthcare ecosystem. The project uses artificial intelligence to analyze various aspects of the healthcare system. It evaluates business, medical and administrative data. It then uses the blockchain to secure the vast amounts of data recorded. The insights provided by the system allow for critical analysis of critical points in the healthcare system, thereby improving the efficiency of patient care. From a cryptographic standpoint, though, it's worth noting the use of blockchain as a means of securing that data. Philips is proof that big companies are realizing blockchain's potential, not just as a store of wealth, but the technology itself.

Quotes | Chinese stocks related to blockchain listed in the United States have different opening ups and downs: U.S. stocks opened today, Renren was flat, Secoo rose 0.28%, China Online fell 0.45%, Xunlei rose 1.38%, and Cheetah Mobile fell 1.25%, Merit Interactive fell 8.28%, and Lantingji was flat. [2018/8/22]

Philips is not the only company using blockchain. British bank Barclays is using blockchain as a means of securing data to secure money transfers. Lockheed Martin, a major U.S. defense contractor, is using blockchain to implement cybersecurity protocol measures in engineering systems, supply chain risk management, and software development. Arguably the security of some of the most dangerous weapons in the world can be trusted to the blockchain.

The first "Vietnam Blockchain Week": Both inside and outside the industry are optimistic about the prospects of blockchain: Yesterday, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam held the first local global conference focusing on blockchain technology and development - Vietnam Blockchain Week, A total of 2,000 members from related companies, institutions and organizations in and outside the industry participated. The opinions of various institutions participating in the conference are positive, and the excerpts are as follows: 1. The person in charge of Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology: Hope that the world’s leading blockchain experts will help Vietnam develop blockchain technology to boost the economy; 2. Opinion leaders and directors of the Hong Kong Fintech Association Members: Blockchain can change the financing model, which has the advantages of improving trust, enhancing liquidity, facilitating asset exchange, and creating job opportunities; 3. Bank of America, OCBC Bank: Digital currency does not conflict with banks, the problem lies in supervision. If digital currency is recognized, the banking system will use blockchain technology to serve customers; 4. CIO of Vietnam National Payment Corporation: Blockchain can simplify processes and improve efficiency; 5. NEM Foundation: In the next 10-15 years, it will You can see multiple blockchain databases serving the banking system and the banking system has to utilize them. [2018/3/8]

Even the U.S. government itself recently released a report analyzing how blockchain can be used to better secure its own network, concluding that 84 percent of government agencies fail to meet basic encryption standards.

Blockchain security for the masses

The advantages of blockchain in terms of security cannot be doubted. This is evidenced by the large number of institutions implementing blockchain in their own cybersecurity programs. The question is: "How can the masses benefit from blockchain security?" There are many crypto projects working to bring this level of security to the masses.

One of them is the company Deeper Network. Deeper Network is a decentralized personal private network that allows users to act as servers and hosts for the decentralized internet. At its core is the operating system AtomOS. AtomOS reads packets directly from network devices using zero-copy technology. By using adaptive tunneling and intelligent routing technology, AtomOS combines intranet penetration, data encryption and protocol concealment to ensure the security of data transmission. In addition to this, a 7-layer enterprise-grade firewall protects the user's entire home network from hackers, trackers, and viruses. AtomOS also automatically filters malicious websites to protect your computer from malicious software.

Since Deeper Network is serverless, user data can never be leaked, hacked, subpoenaed or censored. Deeper Network is accessible through a piece of hardware called Deeper Connect. Deep Connect is a non-customizable, easy-to-operate device that plugs between the router and the modem. Once connected, Deep Connect will make the computer a node in an ultra-secure decentralized network. Deeper Network also eliminates the need for a VPN, as computers can now visit websites anonymously.

Despite the fact that blockchains are built on anonymity, it turns out that re-identification is actually quite simple when the data set provided by the blockchain ledger is incomplete. As blockchain becomes more mainstream, it becomes even more important for people to be able to disassociate their identities from blockchain addresses.

Raze is a project that applies blockchain security to solve this problem. Raze uses a technique called zk-SNARKs to hide the location and amount of any coins transferred on the blockchain. zk-SNARKs are cryptographic zero-knowledge proofs. They allow a party to prove that they contain certain information without having to share what that information is. This allows users to participate in blockchain transactions and DeFi in a truly anonymous way.

People still see cryptocurrency as a somewhat risky space. This is not entirely unreasonable. Fortunes have been lost to security breaches. Blockchain, however, represents a giant leap forward in cybersecurity. Applied properly, it has no competition in this space. This will become a known fact as encryption technology gets closer to mass adoption.

Tags：

Bitcoin