Experts are seeing blockchain’s potential in beefing up an organization’s cybersecurity posture. Can it work?
Blockchain has proven to be an innovative technology as it changes people’s lives for the better. From allowing those in the creative field to earn more while retaining the rights to their work to cryptocurrency mining, of course, it is indeed quite an industry disruptor.
Now experts are considering it as a potential candidate for driving down the number of cyberattacks. With attacks against organizations happening left and right, anything that could be of help is welcome. Let’s take a closer look at blockchain and threat intelligence to find out whether they’re the right mix.
What is Blockchain?
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Blockchain is essentially a decentralized, electronic ledger where every transaction is recorded and locked down using a cryptographic algorithm. It’s no ordinary ledger, though, as users participating in the consensus have to validate every entry logged into it. This mechanism adds a layer of security to every transaction taking place between parties.
What is Threat Intelligence?
Threat intelligence refers to the cybersecurity discipline, where users analyze raw data to identify the sources of potential cyber threats to an organization. It encompasses the field of open-source intelligence (OSINT), social media intelligence (SOCMINT), and intel from security experts and the Dark Web.
Threat intelligence is a valuable component of any cybersecurity analyst’s toolkit. Threat data alone can protect a company’s critical infrastructure, such as its supply chain, network, and Internet-based assets. However, the segment focuses on shielding institutions from advanced persistent threats (APTs) or insider threats, cyberespionage, and zero-day attacks. These are attacks executed by nefarious actors who took their time getting to know a target’s network architecture inside and out.
Blockchain’s Ever-Expanding Role
Since its introduction in 2009, the blockchain has become more than just a buzzword across multiple industries. Its first known and widespread use, as you may already know, is bitcoin payment processing. But its applications have since included smart contracts, electronic voting, identity and fraud protection, and cloud storage, among others.
Today, many industries, most notably banking and finance, are experimenting with blockchain. Banking giants such as UBS and Barclays are testing its use to speed up back-office work. Third-world economies where fintech has yet to emerge mainly use it in cross-border payment processing. Proponents believe that blockchain’s benefits go beyond banking and finance, though, which is undeniable at this point.
How Blockchain Supports Threat Intelligence
One of the primary purposes of threat intelligence is to spread the word on newly uncovered threats and risks that a network can face. Such data needs to be accurate and readily available. By adding blockchain to the equation, there would be increased transparency, fairness, and data completeness in the threat intelligence space.
Blockchain ensures that the data made available to users has been thoroughly verified and not in any way, forged. Users can tell who tampered with a block, for instance. With blockchain, hackers would find it incredibly hard to spoof IP addresses and other Domain Name System (DNS) records.
The implementation does not come without challenges, however. Some reports indicate that threat actors can take over blockchain networks by impersonating central nodes. The speed of adoption, lack of standardization, and the painstaking process of validating transactions also pose hurdles to its growth. That is true not just in the cybersecurity field but also in other industries looking at blockchain as a viable solution to increase operational efficiency.
We have yet to see how big an impact blockchain use would have on cybersecurity. For now, it appears inherently resilient to cyberattacks, making it a viable solution to at least minimize their volume. There may still be a few kinks along the way, but it may revolutionize the cybersecurity industry given a chance.