With the growth of the internet and other technological infrastructures, cyber-attacks have become a common aspect of modern society. Hackers are always trying to break through the security infrastructure of brands globally. Sometimes, they succeed and other times, their attacks hit a brick wall. Once an attack is successful, it negatively affects the goodwill of the brand, and it could even lead to the company getting liquidated. An example of a company that was forced to shut down after a successful hack is Code Spaces.
‘Code Spaces, which was a source code hosting service offering a suite of project management tools to its users, had to shut down in the wake of a devastating hack which wiped away vast amounts of data, backups, machine configurations, and offsite backups. This happened when the attacker initiated a DDoS attack accompanied by an intrusion into Code Spaces’ Amazon EC2 control panel.’
Blockchain became popular as the medium that hosts Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, but the use cases of the technology are astronomical and have grown past being used only for cryptos. It is now being used in different fields like supply chain management, quality monitoring, and even cyber security.
Some notable examples of cyber attacks that took the world by surprise and showed the need for better cyber security techniques will be discussed below.
• Google China was hit in 2009.
‘When Google’s Chinese headquarters detected a security breach in mid-December, it opened up a whole can of worms implicating the Chinese Government.
Hackers had gained access to several of Google’s corporate servers and intellectual property was stolen.
In a blog, Google said it has “evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists”. As the company dug deeper, they found numerous Gmail users from the US, China, and Europe had been routinely accessed without permission. Those emails belonged to advocates of human rights in China.
All eyes darted towards the Chinese Government, which has been accused of flagrantly disregarding human rights for years.’
• Verified Twitter accounts were hacked.
In 2020, the world was ravaged by a pandemic, but that was not the only highlight of that year. Verified Twitter accounts were hacked, and tweets requesting for BTC were sent out from those accounts. Accounts linked to Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, and some other prominent people were hacked ‘seemingly to push a cryptocurrency scam that may have netted upwards of $100,000 in a matter of minutes.’
To solve this issue, the team behind Twitter suspended every account that was verified for over thirty minutes.
• Sony Pictures Cyber Attack of 2014
The popular movie studio was the victim of a hack in 2014, and a substantial amount of data was pilfered, which included the salaries of the executive team in the company, emails that had been exchanged in-house, future movie plans, employees of the movie studio and much more.
The group behind the hack, the Guardians of Peace, hacked Sony’s infrastructure to stop the movie studio from releasing a comedy that portrayed the murder plot of the North Korean leader.
According to Vox, ‘They leaked the information to journalists, who wrote about embarrassing things Sony employees had said to each other.’
Use Cases of Blockchain in Cyber Security
Blockchain’s features are improving cyber security in the following ways:
• Blockchain offers distributed storage innovations
Every field in life depends on data to operate. This is one reason why accurate data is sought after in real-time. Before a company can make rational decisions, they need access to the right data. Every business that exists tends to collate data from their clients, and most times, the data is quite sensitive, which could do a lot of damage if it were leaked.
History has shown that storing data in one spot is unwise because it makes it easy for leaks. This is why distributed storage innovations that blockchain offers can help curb the chances of data being corrupted or leaked.
With blockchain, hackers can’t corrupt the entire data infrastructure or use a single point of access. Some decentralized data storage structures are outfitted with features that can revoke access if any issue is noticed.
• Blockchain can encrypt the data transmission process
Hackers tend to gain access to a data reservoir when the data in it is being transmitted to another source. At the point of the voyage, they exploit the weaknesses and use them to their advantage. During the transmission process, they try to delete it, alter it or download it. Blockchain’s encryption functionality will solve this issue by encrypting the data during the transmission process, thereby ensuring that the integrity of the data remains the same.
• Blockchain can verify the physical cyber security infrastructures.
When blockchain is incorporated into a cyber security infrastructure, it can be used to test out the integrity of the data and verify the authenticity of the physical cyber security infrastructure. This technology tends to improve the functioning and trust that people have in the cyber security infrastructure.
• Blockchain technology improves IoT security
The Internet of Things is an important aspect of modern technology and it involves devices that interact all over the globe like smart security cameras and so on. With the Internet of Things, there has been a rise in the adoption of smart homes and other related products.
The weaknesses in this technology have been exploited in the past on several occasions. For instance, some smart devices in the home of a couple in Wisconsin were attacked.
If blockchain is incorporated into IoT devices, it could make them wiser to make decisions to protect themselves during a hack and remove any node that acts suspiciously, instead of waiting for a command from a centralized body. For now, it is easier for hackers to access IoT devices because of the centralization element, which will change once the decentralized technology is added to the mix. In a typical blockchain, data is distributed in different nodes and easily transmitted with topmost security, which IoT can benefit from once both worlds collide.
Why is it necessary to use blockchain for security?
Out of the different technologies in existence, the blockchain seems to be one of the most secure. Though it may have its flaws, it has grown to offer incredible features to cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain is important in cybersecurity because of its decentralized nature. When a node is corrupted in a decentralized network, it doesn’t affect the functioning of the entire network. The node is instantly disconnected from the network, thereby reducing the chances of an attacker wreaking havoc in the platform. The same can’t be said for a centralized authority because once the hacker gains access, it is easy to manipulate and cause intense damage because the data storage and control are in the hands of a single party. Blockchain technology can change this.
Future Predictions Of Blockchain Technology In Handling Security
Regularly, new and more advanced solutions are incorporated into the world, and they come with incredible features. With these features comes bigger risks of being attacked by hackers, who are on the lookout for loopholes to exploit.
The need for IoT is rising, and with it, there has been an increase in hacks. Devices interact with one another and communicate their data to a centralized source, which can be attacked.
In the coming years, it is expected that the encryption aspect of blockchain technology will be integrated into IoT, social media, and other technologies to create a standard security protocol.
Apart from the aforementioned, adding decentralized technology will introduce transparency. Many hackers love to attack centralized entities because of the anonymity that it offers. The addition of the transparent element could deter many from trying their luck.
Challenges associated with infusing blockchain into security
Though blockchain may come with its perks, it still has some issues that need to be considered.
• Phishing attacks
Many tend to overlook that they could suffer phishing attacks from intruders because of the high security of blockchain technology. This type of attack has been around for a long time, and it is still quite successful in fleecing so many of their funds. An example is when the owner of a crypto account in exchange receives an email requesting for them to log in through a link. If the person uses that link to type in their personal details, they lose the funds in their account. For those that use Twitter, mentioning the words ‘Trust Wallet’ in a tweet will send an army of bots towards you, claiming that they are the support team that handles issues linked to the wallet. They then request the person to send their recovery phrase, and if this is provided, the user loses every cent in that wallet.
• The possibility of 51% Attacks
Blockchain is highly secure, but with a large amount of computing power and 51% of nodes in the power of one entity, it could be disastrous. When this occurs, double-spending could occur. In the past, 51% of successful attacks have occurred like in the case of ZenCash.
• Third-party issues
Blockchain may be secure, but the third parties and endpoints linked to it can be compromised easily. The chance of a block being altered is next to impossible because of the computing power needed, but an Ether that is stored in a wallet can be a victim of a compromise. Third parties that connect to the blockchain can also be hacked especially if they have loopholes.
In Conclusion…
- Blockchain can improve the current state of cyber security by heightening transparency.
- Blockchain adds an extra layer of security to IoT devices.
- The use cases of this technology have continuously evolved and expanded.
- Though blockchain technology is innovative, it is still plagued with issues like third-party issues, the possibility of 51% attack, and much more.
- The risks that come with blockchain pales in comparison with the cybersecurity issues that businesses face daily.
If you would like to read more articles like this, follow DeFi Planet on Twitter and LinkedIn.
