What are the security benefits of blockchain?
It's not hard to see the security benefits of blockchain technology thus described. There are several key elements:
- Blockchains are decentralized, so there's no single source of data to hack, and there's no need to bring in third-party suppliers—who may also be hacked—to process transactions.
- Blockchains are encrypted to provide an extra layer of security and ensure data doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
- Any changes are made in real time across all nodes, which adds transparency and trust in the ledger and ensures there's no single point of failure.
- Blockchains are virtually tamper-proof because changing a record would invalidate its file signature and raise a massive red flag. Also, as every transaction is checked by multiple nodes, you'd need to compromise all of these at the same time to perform a successful hack—likely a huge and costly undertaking.
How can the security benefits of blockchain help across industries?
The security benefits of blockchain can be seen across industries, including manufacturing, healthcare and finance.
- The benefits of blockchain in manufacturing: With extensive and complex supply chains, manufacturers need to ensure that data on specs sent from upstream partners can be trusted. This is where the tamper-resistant nature of the blockchain comes into its own. The time-stamping of blocks adds an extra element of granularity to further enhance assurance.
- The benefits of blockchain in healthcare: Blockchain can help securely encrypt electronic patient records, protect them from being hacked and preserve the anonymity of individual patients who may be part of the network. That ensures data can be shared seamlessly between patients, healthcare providers, and clinicians with minimal privacy or security concerns.
- The benefits of blockchain in finance: Blockchain can securely encrypt financial transactions whilst making it easier to trace and monitor payments to mitigate fraud. The same principles can be applied to the storage and sharing of sensitive business and personal documents.
