Why is blockchain secure?

People often say that blockchain is very much secure. Ever wondered why blockchain is secure? If you had the curiosity of the same, you are at the right place. We will see why is blockchain secure. This guide will cover everything you need to know about blockchain security. Before we can know about how secure blockchain is, we will see how it works.

How do Blockchain works?

Blockchain is a distributed database where all information is stored in the block. Whenever someone enters the data, it’s encrypted and then stored in a block. There are many such blocks.

When the block is filled with the data, it’s then attached to the previous block. The new data is entered in the new block. That’s the reason, it’s called a blockchain.

Now, let’s talk about security and understand several of the above terms in detail.

Distributed System

As we have mentioned earlier, it’s a distributed database. In simple terms, each data is shared with other network nodes. These nodes are nothing but a host of an independent computer program.

The term distributed is usually called decentralized. The shared system ensures that there is no centralized authority that will monitor all things. If a user wants to validate their details, they can do it all by themselves. It removes the middlemen from the game.

The blocks are connected with the “append-only” mode. This plays a very important role in blockchain security. We will learn more about it in the next section.

Immutable

The term “append-only” means that once the block is attached, there is no way one can reverse it. In simple terms, one can say that if someone enters data into the blockchain, there is no way it can be deleted or edited. Whatever you enter on the blockchain stays on the blockchain forever. One can only add more data to it.

Whenever the data is entered, it’s encrypted. The metadata is maintained properly when the code is being encrypted. So, whenever a transaction is done, the data, time, and other similar details are recorded in encrypted form.

Smart Contract

The smart contract is one of the reasons why the blockchain becomes more secure. A smart contract is a contract where a set of rules are entered. The transaction is executed only when the conditions are met properly.

So, an agreement is only executed when the conditions are met properly. This removes the issues of “not getting the payment”. Both the parties are satisfied as the conditions are met before the transaction is closed.

As everything is automated, it saves the time of both parties as well.

The No-human System

People love blockchain because it doesn’t involve a human. There is no human intervention needed when you are transacting money or you are making a deal with someone. Blockchain handles all the things for you.

As the computer/code is responsible to check whether the conditions are met, there are no chances of a breach.

This could be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. It doesn’t have any direct risk to the user. However, at a certain level, it can be an issue. A user might get trapped in accessing their data. For instance, if a user forgets their crypto wallet password, there is no way one can access it again. A person might end up losing millions of dollars due to the same. This is the reason why this can be an issue.

Final Words: Is Blockchain fully secure?

Let’s ask the difficult question, is blockchain fully secure?

Well, all types of security protocols say the same. However, many user-generated flaws could breach security. For instance, the transaction done over the blockchain is secure. However, an attacker can still use phishing and other similar techniques to get the details of the users.

The next issue lies in the exchanges. When you buy something from an exchange, there are good chances that the exchange might not be following the security protocols. If the exchange’s database is not secure, it could put you in a problem.

So, the best way to be secure in the blockchain network is to ensure that you are using a secure network. You can look out for things like multi-factor authentication, multi-signature transactions, etc.