Preventing hacks, shifting liability: How 0Chain could disrupt the social media industry
Many people are already aware of the recent Twitter hack which involved nearly 130 prominent figures’ accounts sending out tweets requesting Bitcoin payments. Even though the hackers only received around $120,000 in Bitcoin, this number continues to appreciate due BTC recently crossing the $11,000 mark. In addition to these tweets, the hacker was able to access 36 users’ direct messages and submitted requests to download 8 users’ Twitter information.
This serious breach of data could have resulted in catastrophe had the hackers accessed highly sensitive information. With the potential to alter elections via tweets from accounts such as US Presidential Nominee Joe Biden or impact stock markets through false announcements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it could be safe to say that Twitter got lucky. Thankfully, these scenarios did not occur, but the hack still had a major impact on Twitter causing a 3% drop in after-market stock value.
In addition to this hack, many social media sites have seen an increase in the spreading of misinformation, malignant messages, and racism. Recent issues with Facebook include a study which showed that millions of users see misinformation about COVID-19 without any warning or label. This potentially could lead to detrimental health outcomes for many families and communities. On the other hand, Twitter continues to experience racism issues, as noted in the recent attack on Wilfred Zaha, an international soccer player.
While data hacks continue to target large companies and hate messages become evermore prevalent, there is an increasing need for a system to help resolve these issues. As the many underlying protocols will soon be put into place during BetaNet, we can explore how 0Chain’s technology can help solve the aforementioned problems. Through 0Chain’s 2-Device Authentication and identity measures, 0Chain has the ability to improve current social media platforms by increasing security and privacy
Safe Logins, Secure Transactions
As highlighted recently in our 2-Device Authentication article, 0Chain implements a new technology through the split-key protocol. This technology requires users to utilize two devices to confirm any transaction they wish to make. In the case of the recent Twitter hack, the accounts would have had to utilize both devices to authenticate the tweet they wanted to send. In turn, this technology would have prevented the ability for one hacker to send tweets from nearly 130 prominent figures.
Typical users have more than one device at their disposal (such as a mobile device and laptop) in which their private key can generate multiple split-keys and store them in each device respectively, as seen in figure 1. By splitting the key into multiple devices, users are adequately protected if one device is compromised and any transaction requires verification from all devices. Not only does splitting the keys allow users to safely login, it requires a second device to be able to complete any action.
Complete Control of User Data
In the most recent updated version of the 0Chain Whitepaper, it mentions that “the basic tenet of identity on our platform is to provide data protection and ownership of data to the user so that the liability rests on the user and not with the enterprise.”
As seen in figure 2 below, users can upload data to the 0Chain Network in order to create a profile. Then, a third-party app, such as Twitter, could access portions of their data if needed in order to make accounts tied to their profile. Currently, social media sites have the right to access and use any data you upload to their site. Through 0Chain, users would be able to grant permission to 3rd party applications to access specific data and could see when and what data was accessed. This gives the user complete control over their data. By requiring users to register their information to create an account, it imposes a sense of liability on these users for the content they share.
Shifting Liability to Users
Through creating a profile through 0Chain’s network, a user’s account(s) would be tied to their data. As noted in earlier, the rise in spreading of misinformation and racists remarks on social media is a pressing issue. While many of these cases get swept under the rug and users are never punished beyond a banned account, 0Chain’s technology would shift the liability onto users for the messages they share and spread.
For example, if a user began to spew racist commentary at individuals, they could no longer hide behind a faceless profile. Their account(s) could be tied to the required information such as name, address, etc. As seen above in figure 2, 3rd party applications could include in their terms & conditions that this information would only be accessed on certain terms. While some may worry companies may not abide by their own rules, 0Chain’s ledger would provide transparency regarding when and what data is accessed. This holds both the enterprise and user accountable. In the end, this would make it easier to hold users accountable for their actions whether it be through fines or criminal punishment.
BetaNet Progression
As BetaNet continues, new updates and releases are happening every week! We strongly encourage you to try the network and features yourself. To do so, click here.
Recently, we released three repos (blockRecorder, blockWorker, and 0proxy) and revised our API documentation respectively. Our API documentation was revised to include the new repos accordingly, enabling dApps to use them to search for a file, store blocks, and use JS SDK to upload/download files from browser.
You can also expect an update to the Explorer with completion of bug fixes and features in the near future.
