Can my technology be trusted? Has my digital security been compromised? From attacks on IoT devices to massive consumer data breaches, we’ve asked ourselves these unsettling questions far too many times throughout 2017.
Statistics paint a terrifying picture: cybercrime damage costs are predicted to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021 according to Cyber Security Ventures. Within the healthcare ecosystem alone, the Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than 2.5 million individuals' personal healthcare information was breached during the last six months of 2017. Shockingly, the American Medical Association reports that four out of five physicians in the U.S. have experienced a cyber attack.
Blockchain can provide some relief. According to The Economist, blockchain originated as the peer-to-peer virtual currency system behind Bitcoin in 2008. Many others have since climbed on the blockchain bandwagon through the cryptocurrency craze, with Bitcoin zooming to a record high this year according to Reuters. However, this platform holds the ability to do so much more than Bitcoin mining -- blockchain provides an alternative method of storing and sharing information and a path out of this security mess.
Over the next three years, blockchain will embark upon a journey that will change the way our data is stored, tracked and verified to restore digital trust. Let’s explore three ways blockchain holds the potential to change our daily lives in 2018 and beyond:
Blockchain-As-A-Service
Blockchain provides a groundbreaking new way of doing everything digitally — supply chain, security, healthcare, shopping, voting — you name it. Blockchain is an online-record-keeping system that's decentralized and maintained by immutable record transactions using pre-established cryptographic techniques and a network of computers that verify. This distributed network provides incredible protection capabilities because “blocks” are not added to the chain without consensus on their validity.
In 2018, blockchain will evolve through a huge consolidation of solutions that leverage blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS). With BaaS, individuals and businesses can inject tangible and traceable data-authenticity benefits into their systems. Here are some examples:
• Global food chain: App Developer Magazine reports that IBM is working with food companies and retailers to explore how blockchain technology can be used to make the food-supply chain safer to improve food traceability by providing trusted information on the origin of our edibles. Blockchain is suited to address food-supply provenance challenges because it establishes a trusted environment for all transactions. View More
