Blockchain: IT and technological security

Are we really witnessing the beginning of the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?

This post is to analyze people's perception of the crypto world and the fear of not having certainty about the security of wallets and the blockchain in general.

It must be remembered that Bitcoin was only created in 2009 and although the last thirteen years have seen incredible progress and growth for cryptocurrencies, it has not been without its problems.

Disputes such as the 850,000 Bitcoins (then valued at $ 450 million, now valued at $ 46 billion) stolen by MT Got in 2014, have shaken people's confidence in cryptography as a reliable and secure store of value.

What thefts like this really show is the weakness of centralized bodies. In general, decentralized currencies have always been safe as long as their private keys were handled properly.

The challenge for new cryptographic security projects is to take advantage of decentralized security and make it accessible and usable for the general public.

New applications for the Blockchain

In partnership with hospitals around the world, Philips Healthcare is developing AI (artificial intelligence) and blockchain to create a new healthcare ecosystem.

The project uses AI to analyze every aspect of a health system, evaluating operational, medicinal and administrative data. It uses the blockchain to protect the huge amounts of recorded data.

The insights provided by this system allow a critical analysis of the key points of a health system allowing for more efficient hospital care. What is remarkable, from a cryptographic point of view, is the use of the blockchain as a means to protect this data. Philips is showing that large companies are understanding the enormous potential of blockchain, not only as a store of wealth but also for the technology itself.

But Philips is not the only one. Blockchain as a means of securing data is used by Barclays to secure fund transfers. Lockheed Martin, a massive US defense contractor, uses blockchain to implement cybersecurity protocol measures in engineering systems, supply chain risk management, and software development. This should say a lot about the fact that the security of some of the most dangerous weapons in the world are "entrusted" to blockchain technology.

Even the US government itself recently conducted a report to analyze how blockchain could be used to better secure their network, having concluded that 84% of all government agencies do not meet basic encryption standards.

For everyone, the security of the blockchain

The security benefits of blockchain are no longer in doubt and the huge institutions that are moving to implement it in their cybersecurity initiatives are proof of this. The question is: But how can the general public take advantage of blockchain security? There are a number of cryptographic projects that are working to bring this level of security to the "masses".

One of them is Deeper Network. Deeper Network is a decentralized private network (DPN) that allows users to act as both a server and host for a decentralized Internet and at the core is the AtomOS operating system. AtomOS uses zero-copy technology to read data packets directly from network devices, using adaptive tunneling and intelligent routing technologies. AtomOS combines intranet penetration, data encryption and protocol camouflage, and all of this serves to bypass network censorship and protect data transmissions.

In addition, an enterprise-grade Layer 7 firewall protects the user's entire home network from hackers, trackers and viruses. AtomOS will also automatically filter malicious websites while protecting your computer from malware.

Because the Deeper network is serverless, user data can never be leaked, hacked, sued or censored. Deeper Network is accessible with a piece of hardware known as Deeper Connect. Deeper Connect is a non-customizable and simple to use device that connects between a router and a modem. Once connected, Deeper Connect will allow your computer to become a node in the ultra secure DPN. Deeper Network also eliminates the need for a VPN as a computer will now access sites anonymously.

Although the blockchain is based on anonymity, it is shown that, from the incomplete data sets provided by the blockchain ledgers, it is actually quite easy to redirect people. As the blockchain becomes more and more mainstream, it is increasingly important for people to be able to dissociate their identity from their blockchain address.

Raze is a project that is applying blockchain security to solve just this problem. Raze uses a technology called zk-SNARKs to hide the location and amount of any tokens transferred on the blockchain. zk-SNARK are zero-knowledge cryptographic proofs. They allow a party to prove that they contain certain information without having to share what that information is. This allows users to participate in blockchain and DeFi transactions with genuine anonymity.

There is still a perception of cryptography as a somewhat risky space.

This is not entirely irrational. Fortunes were lost due to security breaches. However, the blockchain represents a huge leap forward for cybersecurity. When applied correctly, it is without competition in the field.

As cryptocurrencies move closer to mass adoption, this is a fact that will become universally known.