As data breaches heightened in 2019, analysts believe that blockchain technology offers better data security because it negates the need for third-party security companies.
Risk-Based Security said 2019 is the ‘worst year on record’ for the most number of data breaches in the world. According to the company, there are a total of 8 billion records affected by the data breach last year. This caused millions of damages to companies because of the privacy violations and settlement amounts.
Facebook, for instance, compromised millions of its users’ data last year, paying a hefty price for collecting and storing biometric data without consent. The tech company paid $550 million settlement on a controversial privacy lawsuit.
Additionally, the use of third-party company services also brings more questions on how safe storing data is. More companies resort to third-party storage solutions like Dropbox and Google Docs, which has centralized databases. When affected, these databases cause a domino effect, with data breaches going unnoticed.
HashCoins CTO Nikolay Pavlovskiy said blockchain technology is more efficient and reliable because of the lack of need to work with third-party storage companies. “Blockchain provides unique user identification, therefore, offering solutions for two crucial problems. First of all, it assures the non-disclosures of confidential user’s data. Secondly, it eliminates the need for centralization, allowing the system to scale up to the global level,” said Pavlovskiy.
Blockchain is considered the ideal data storage solution because it provides enforced access to the data, which isn’t the case for traditional storage systems. The homomorphic encryption makes it harder to access files without preliminary decryption. In fact, this kind of system is utilized by MIT Enigma network, with data divided into pieces.
Microsoft also joined in the blockchain network with a new decentralized identification system Decentralized ID or DID, which is available for authenticator application. This technology works by eliminating the need to give consent to use private data and duplication of users’ identities isn’t supported. Developers believe that blockchain technology provides a ‘strong sense of security’ for data and networks.
Back in 2004, American internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver introduced the principle of storing personal information to protect user data. This was passed by the Communications Commission in 2004, which helped people use modern apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, and more.
While not most companies are transitioning to blockchain technology, more governments are stepping up with regulations to enhance the security and safety of users.
