How useful it is to issue digital certificates on the blockchain?

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Blockchain technology is used in several ways in varied industries for offering high-security managing distribution systems and recording valuable information. Blockchain records all transactions without any verification from third parties. An evolving issue in recent years is - counterfeiting certification. It is posing serious threats to people. Issuing paper-based certificates manually is prone to errors and time- consuming. Day by day, the number of people's data is increasing, so deploying a system for both issuing and verifying digital certificates based on blockchain technology can solve issues of forged documents.

What is the current problem with document certification?

Many organisations and businesses need original documents for verification purposes before further processing. Some valuable documents like (birth certificates) exist only once. Parties involved in verification and issuing other certificates may experience hesitancy to handle these sensitive documents and that can result in damage or even loss. Many parties are unable to protect the valuable physical pieces of paper with this process. Another big problem comes from data theft. Many people have reported it. So the question comes: how can this issue be solved? Creating digital proof or digital certificates certified or signed by respective institutions or authorised organisations can be beneficial. With blockchain-based digital certificates, you can access and verify the digital asset's authenticity without depending on any intermediary or third party. Traditional data records like paper files deteriorate over time. storing records like digital certificates on the blockchain can help in safeguarding sensitive credentials from destruction & damage. Blockchain document security methods can help users seamlessly secure their sensitive documents.

What about blockchain solutions?

Blockchain technology has brought a revolution in storing and sharing data. The mechanism of cryptography helps in keeping information fully secured. Blockchain offers a digital ledger or decentralised database of data. Centred on computer networks that approve updates before data get recorded and verified. It lessens the reliance and vulnerability of centralised data storage. Instead of handling physical pieces of documents, issuing and storing digital certificates in blockchain can be advantageous to users. You can efficiently utilise the benefits of blockchain, like - authentication, encryption and decentralisation. Every certificate consists of references of both issuer and receiver with a hash (a sign of document), that is stored in the public database. It is identical in the number of computers throughout the globe. These digital certificates with blockchain technology have vital additional advantages over any other certificates.

How does blockchain make digital certificates work?

When a digital certificate is issued, data gets digitised. A digital identity gets assigned to every certificate. All of the digital certificates are tagged as well as traceable. Original documents are stored safely in the computer networks in the blockchain which are known as nodes. In totality, blockchain makes digital certificates highly transparent and secured. It also makes it easy to unfurl any fraud because this technology can expose any forged or outdated certificates.

Are these digital certificates tamper-proof?

Yes, the digital certificates are tamper-proof not by just signing but right after the beginning of the transaction. A signing algorithm produces a signature that is encrypted through a private key. The digital signature in these certificates can never be forged without having access to the private key of the user or members. With the help of document security QR codes, users can secure their valuable credentials.

What are the potential benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain?

Blockchain has evolved to be beneficial for the financial industry. This technology is the most talked about and sought-after technology used in the world. There are innumerable benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain. Some of them are here: a) Require fewer resources for issuance: Issuance and maintenance of digital certificates on the blockchain require a very less number of resources. As a result, the whole process saves time, effort and human capital. b) Digital certificates are conveyable: Contrary to physical certificates, the digital ones issued on the blockchain need not be carried around every place. Digital certificates are there to exist for a lifetime. These certificates can be easily accessed on any of your devices from any part of the world. c) Ideal as Identity proof: Digital certificates based on blockchain are the best substitution for the traditional proofs of paper identification. Digital certificates are issued on a highly secured framework of blockchain which is fully secured. These verifiable certificates can be easily traced all the way back to an issuer. This method makes the procedure transparent. You can use the blockchain document security method for securing and storing your valuable documents. d) Gives overall data security: Paper certificates can also take days and months to get issued and dispatched. Paper certificates can be altered without issuing the institute's knowledge and that is risky. Digital certificates issued on the blockchain can not be altered by any person. If someone tries to tamper with it, then verification will fail. This makes data in your digital certificates fully secured as well as traceable. e) No third party requirement: Blockchain verification of digital certificates can be performed by any person having access to the network. There is no need for any third party interference for verification. Digital certificates can be verified even if any organisation that issued them no longer exists. f) For micro-credentialing: Every data remains encrypted in the digital certificates issued on the blockchain. Organisations or businesses can issue "micro-credentialing" for recognizing, career skills, learning and so on. It can help both students and organisations. g) Comes at an affordable cost: Using blockchain is not expensive. With the help of the blockchain-powered platform, you can issue digital certificates for numerous services with ease. You may need no extra software or hardware and be done with an internet connection. So in nutshell, the unique features of blockchain technology make issuing digital certificates easy and tamper-proof. Blockchain technology simplifies and facilities the entire process of issuance of digital certificates. It also helps in the easy transfer of these certificates leading to the expansion of contents and information. We hope in the next few years, more and more organisations will come forward in embracing digital certificates issuance on the blockchain. A blockchain document security system can help you to secure sensitive credentials with ease.

How to Increase Cyber Security with the Help of Blockchain Technology?

Posted on August 8, 2022

Blockchain technology can be a solution to several prime cybersecurity problems. Blockchain transforms general business practices by developing a way to gather a trusted ledger and carry out computations in a decentralized manner. Similarly, making blockchain encrypted QR codes for documents and data strengthens their security.

Much of the trust previously placed in centralized authorities has been now moved to cryptography and other similar algorithms. Blockchain tech is a complicated system with several different features and functions. It has some features that are effective and useful in cybersecurity.

Immutable Digital Ledger

One of the primary purposes of the blockchain is the creation of an immutable and distributed digital ledger. The goal behind this thing initially was to store financials like the records of cryptocurrency transfers. However, you can store any data such as different records, executable code, and more on a blockchain’s distributed ledger.

The blockchain forms an immutable and decentralized ledger as it has each node in the network that stores a copy of the ledger. The ledger includes cryptography, making it highly challenging to create a forged copy of the ledger that all the nodes will accept in the network. The blend of ledger immutability and distributed storage makes it hard to forge the ledger to remove or modify the data that it contains.

Traceability & Origin

Transparency and traceability are the main ingredientsof blockchain technology designs. However, cybersecurity offer benefits differently in different applications. For example, in a supply chain context, a digital distributed ledger gathers and stores tamper-proof records of transactions and freight data throughout parties and the product lifecycle. Once there is blockchain encrypted document and data, it decreases the risks of counterfeit and tampering by any individual party.

Moreover, in financial sector, transparency and immutability of payment history diminish the requirement for a central broker. Blockchain technology may also improve the privacy and security of transactions, like remittances and cross-border payments. Hence, one can easily trace the data by scanning the QR code on the document or record and know about its origin and authenticity. Thus, the scope for any cyberattacks reduces immensely.

Use of Smart Contracts

The original blockchains existed for data storage, allowing them to implement a decentralized financial system. However, such blockchains expanded to encompass support for smart contracts. Smart contracts enable the programs to operate on top of the blockchain in both a distributed and decentralized manner.

The blockchain uses its decentralized ledger to device smart contracts. Rather than holding financial data, transactions on these platforms include executable code. When any block is added to the distributed ledger, every node executes the code that fits in their copy of the blockchain’s virtual machine. As every node has a virtual machine having the same starting level and runs the same code, these always agree on the present state of the blockchain’s virtual computer. Hence, it ensures cybersecurity at all levels.

The Bottom Line

Blockchain technology has much scope in the field of cybersecurity. Blockchain tech already powers projects that depend on security, accountability, controlled access, transparency, and efficiency. Cybersecurity leaders must understand the benefits it has for this industry. Whether blockchain encrypted QR code or any other blockchain-based solutions, talk to ProofEasy for any guidance related to implementing the same.