A thought-provoking word keeps emerging everywhere you see in the security world: Blockchain. As the word cloud, this technology concept has taken grip of the security industry. It has turned out to be one of the hottest emerging technologies.
In simplest words , a Blockchain is a system that can provide validation and immutable copies of data. Hence, it secures all types of data transactions and document storage. It makes the data and documents tamper-proof.
However, you must be wondering what businesses did before the appearance of blockchain technology? For so many decades now, digital signatures have been the technique through which systems have provided integrity, non-repudiation, and verification to access the contents of any data set electronically across different networks.
Digital signatures in Brief
Businesses commonly use digital signatures in emails and other systems. These signatures include a mathematical algorithm that forms up a hash (signature) using data from both the contents of the message and information of the key.
Over the years, digital signatures have become increasingly secure by adding information to the key. It even used different kinds of cryptography and implemented unconventional signature systems. Advanced electronic signatures have formed an added layer of security by staying compliant with needed requirements. It controls the private key, and the signature can detect when someone has tampered with the data. E-signatures are not unbeatable, but people accept them as an excellent standard for authentication and non-repudiation. It is because users understand them widely and have only had a few security incidents.
Understanding Blockchain
As with all sorts of systems in cyber, when experts find one system to be less than ideal, there is always an effort to form an improved, stone-secure system to prevent all attacks. Blockchain arose as a hit when Bitcoin initially implemented the use of a Blockchain application. That was the most advanced cryptocurrency system so far. Furthermore, various organizations, financial services, and clearing corporations have begun considering the system as an innovative way to device extra security measures into their overall transactions.
Blockchain, though seemingly complicated, is simple. Blockchain is a sequence of timestamped data records that link together, forming the chain. There is a recording of a hash of the earlier transaction to create transactions, and there is the use of the recipient’s public key by the signer, together with the signer’s private key. All transactions need the signer to have their private key; without such a thing, you would be unlucky as you cannot do any transaction. Blockchains technology intend to replace an external, trusted third party like certificate authorities, and prevent anyone from going backward and covering their tracks if they corrupted any entry.
Furthermore, one can easily validate a document with a document security QR code. Once you put the QR code on any document, a person can access it only if the secure Qr code matches the QR code on the blockchain network. These QR codes include a unique hash value that makes everything immutable.
Digital Certificates & Blockchain Working Together
Digital signatures have become the main control in many organizations’ security strategies. These rely on certificates and complicated mathematical algorithms to offer the authenticity of the data and protection against forgery.
Blockchain works by adding the business ledger feature. It allows for multiple signatures, forming fingerprints and timestamps, and allocating information across multiple systems in a network versus any centralized server. The point is Blockchain adds a high value to the proof-of-work concept. In this, nobody can edit or remove the transactions and hence significantly secures transactions and signature technologies.
The Bottom Line
Both digital certificates and blockchain technology have been revolutionizing the world of cybersecurity. But speaking of blockchain technology, there are still various hurdles producing concern for organizations or businesses considering the jump from digital signatures to Blockchain. But there is no harm in trying blockchain solutions; just give it a try with ProofEasy.