MEDIA Protocol And Blockchain Security — Part 2
The team here at MEDIA Protocol are deeply committed to creating a more direct, transparent and secure ecosystem for content creators, publishers, and consumers through the revolutionary application of blockchain technology. We’re here to connect the worlds of marketing and technology for everyone’s benefit.
We’ve got love for both worlds, but from our own experience we know that they can sometimes feel, literally, worlds apart. So we’re committed, not just to connecting them, but to creating a common understanding between them.
This series of articles aims to explain the ins and outs of blockchain security to help everyone — the marketeers, the technologists, and the content consumers — understand the principles behind this game-changing technology.
We want to help educate by demystifying the potential applications of blockchain technology. Most importantly, we feel it’s vital to highlight and clarify the security elements of blockchain; how it safeguards data, enables open and transparent record-keeping and ensures secure digital transactions.
Strap in, and welcome to the MEDIA Protocol Blockchain Education Programme.
Part 2 — How Does Blockchain Apply To Cyber Security?
To understand the security benefits of blockchain, we have to first identify the weaknesses in existing systems.
What Are The Current Security Flaws?
Most transactional business is conducted over systems reliant on centralised database storage; monolithic structures that have weak points due to their very nature of being collected in one location.
This leaves the data susceptible to any number of attacks.
These include DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) which floods machines or servers with requests until they’re unavailable to legitimate users. And also ransomware, which effectively takes the data and access to it hostage in return for money.
Data stored in one central location means it is also controlled by a single authority. Without direct access, how can other users of that data be sure that it’s legitimate when provided to them?
This affects our everyday data use, right down to our email. Without encryption, there is currently no way of verifying:
- If an email has been read anywhere else by anyone else
- If it has been edited or manipulated in any way
- Who the sender is for certain
How Does Blockchain Do Security Better?
Using DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), transactions are stored in a range of locations simultaneously, leaving no central point to attack. Amendments or updates to transactional data in one location are copied to all other locations right away.
Blockchain can sidestep DDoS attacks by decentralising the DNS itself, spreading that data over a number of nodes. That means no central cluster to attack and block out other users trying to access the data.
The ledger format means the transactions are clearly and publicly recorded. This makes the information transparent and extremely difficult to tamper with. Any changes will be recorded, regardless of which node the change is made from. The data can be considered more legitimate if all parties to it have direct access.
Verification and other security protocols can be provided by the blockchain directly. The encryption allows for forms of digital signatures and security certificates. Again, the decentralised nature of the way these are stored makes them much harder to hack or manipulate.
What Other Security Features Does Blockchain Provide?
- Removing the human factor from authentication processes. By using certificates generated by the blockchain, it removes the need for passwords, which are often too weak, and readily obtained or forgotten.
- Streamlining legal and financial processes, making the overall process as quick as the transactions, with instant verification and digital signing.
- Making everything traceable. Every change will be recorded, in its original and then its amended state. The ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘who by’ will be a matter of record.
- Blocking attempts to tamper with the data. Unauthorised or inappropriate actions will be detected by the blockchain and excluded from the chain. A form of self-quarantining.
What About Media Protocol’s Cyber Security?
MEDIA Protocol runs on blockchain. All the cyber security benefits of blockchain can be applied to MEDIA Protocol.
For a refresher on blockchain security, see Part 1 of our Blockchain Education Programme.
Being based on blockchain means MEDIA Protocol’s data is decentralised, transparent, and auditable. Access is unlikely to be prevented by DDoS or other attacks, meaning it’s always available. The data has no one controller, so it retains its integrity. Attempts to tamper or manipulate are easily weeded out.
By cutting out the middlemen in a variety of transactions, MEDIA Protocol fosters direct relationships, based on transparent and verifiable data. Using the best features of blockchain makes MEDIA Protocol every bit as secure.
For more information regarding MEDIA Protocol find us on our social channels below:
Website: www.mediaprotocol.org
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEDIA_Protocol
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/media-protocol/
Telegram: https://t.me/Media_Protocol_Community and https://t.me/MP_Announcements
Medium: https://medium.com/@mediaprotocolsm
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