Only two decades of the 21st century are over, yet there are technological advancements which have turned mere dreams into reality. Today we can talk to any person face-to-face on a video call in any corner of the world; our phones have replaced former essentials like the camera, the calculator, the television, the torch, the radio and even computers to some extent. Nevertheless, technological advancements are not over yet - concepts like Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing and Big Data are key to the future of technology. In order to back all that and to keep data safe, we need Block-chains. How do they work? Blockchains are basically public ledgers that can chronologically record transactions in real-time. All the actions (blocks) are linked together (in a chain) in a distributed decentralized database, making the data immutable and essentially safe. Moreover, all transactions have to be approved by the users (nodes) and all the intermediaries are eliminated, leaving the data virgin. This efficient and cost-effective database is virtually tamper-proof.
Applications Given the backdrop of its various advantages along with assured safety and transparency, multiple applications exist such as in banking, capital markets, cryptocurrency, cross-border remittances, commercial papers, cybersecurity, healthcare, agriculture, governance, among others. All these are sectors to research upon, but as of today the most important application of Blockchain is the prevention of hacking. How can it prevent hacking? • The Blockchain network does not have a central authority - it is the definition of a democratized system. This assures transparency and accountability. For this reason, the hackers don’t have a single computer or destination to attack (single computers only act as a node). • As it is a fully automated system, human interference is negligible. • Being a public platform, even the slightest change is virtually impossible. • One the party to a transaction initiates the process by creating a block, it is verified by millions of computers over the net. The verified block is then added to the chain. Falsifying even a single bit of data would hamper the entire chain; hence, corruption is detrimental. • All these qualities help citizens save their systems from theft, ransomware, malware, information asymmetry, etc. In conclusion, the use of this technology, like any other, does come with some challenges like the lack of vigilance of Government but in a long term, Blockchains will open up the doors to the future and help us keep our computer systems safe and running without the fear of hackers.
Comments