Close
Ever heard of blockchain? Best known as the technology that enables controversial cryptocurrency Bitcoin, blockchain could be one of the most significant IT developments of our time.
You don’t need to be a cryptocurrency expert to recognise blockchain’s transformative potential. Some of the world’s largest businesses are leveraging the technology to execute contracts without lawyers, simplify records management and facilitate secure cross-border payments.
Gartner says that while blockchain is still five to ten years away from mainstream adoption, its impact on IT departments will be significant. As a result, every IT professional should know what blockchain is, possible use cases, and associated risks.
Let’s take a closer look.
Blockchain is the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether possible. It is a secure, online ledger shared by all parties participating in a network.
Unlike other types of ledgers, blockchain maintains a record of every transaction ever made. Changes to records, such as money spent or received, are reflected in every copy of the ledger. Blockchain records cannot be lost or manipulated. This makes it possible to conduct transactions without a ‘trusted’ third party, such as a broker, payment processor or lawyer.
While blockchain is disrupting industries such as financial services and accounting first, no sector is immune. In addition to finance-centric applications, like improving online identity management and enabling real-time fraud protection, other applications include:
•Secure voting systems
•Government ledgers
•Tracing the origin of diamonds
•Crowdfunding platforms
The challenge for IT professionals is to assist organisations to harness blockchain’s power, while maintaining security, performance and compliance.
Blockchain has its fair share of security and performance risks. As with any new technology, IT professionals should be aware of what can go wrong, and how to keep enterprise information safe.
Blockchain increases security in three ways: preventing identity theft, blocking data tampering, and thwarting denial of service attacks. However, it is important to remember that it is not a silver bullet solution.
Last year, a $79 million cryptocurrency heist cast doubts on blockchain’s future. Sabotage is also a real threat, with miners theoretically able to work together to control and manipulate a blockchain network in a 51% attack.
A private blockchain is one way to minimise security risks. Both private and public blockchains both use the same ledger technology to record transaction data. The difference: only businesses can use private blockchains. Private blockchain applications are considerably more secure, and diminish the threat of rogue miners.
Blockchain-dependent cryptocurrency payments are sluggish compared to consumer payment standards. As a blockchain grows, verification times increase. More computing resources are required to process even small transactions.
In Bitcoin’s busiest week, for example, the average transaction took two hours to confirm. That’s much longer than the couple of seconds it takes to withdraw cash from an ATM. In fact, experts say that slow verification times are one of the biggest limitations preventing blockchain from being widely implemented.
The solution? There isn’t one. Yet. For now, the best way for IT professionals to ensure fast verifications is to give precedence to less time-critical blockchain applications.
***
It’s still early days for non-Bitcoin blockchain applications, and the impact of blockchain on industry is uncertain. What is definite is that IT professionals with a detailed understanding of what blockchain is, and how its technology operates, will be positioned to leverage opportunities and dodge unexpected surprises and risks.
Dr. Hugh Bradlow, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, shares his insights on the growing cybersecurity war, and how to manage risks and resilience in a world of unknowns.
Data science can give you the insights you need to create new services and transform your business. But, if you don’t understand your data, you risk making bad business decisions or worse, automating them for years to come. Here’s a few things you should know to get started.
To date, the average total cost of a data breach is approximately AUS$2.51 million. That's bad news. And it gets worse: Australia ranks fourth among the 10 countries most affected by data breaches. Be proactive and avoid these common data leaks.
With modern technology, the healthcare sector is becoming more connected with an increasing number of ‘things’ now using software, for example medical devices. It’s creating a new world of cybersecurity concerns, but how does the healthcare sector measure up when it comes to managing Information Security?
With cyber crime on the rise in Australia, it’s becoming more important than ever to protect your business with cyber security training. We look at how your employees are your best weapon against cyber attacks.
In this digital world, data management is a significant responsibility and a data breach is an equally significant risk. Should things go wrong, businesses must take steps to minimise the impact. With the changes to the Privacy Act coming into effect this week, Andrew Giles, Head of Public Relations and Communications for Canon Australia, shares insights on how to preserve trust and maintain strong customer relationships.
If you're on the Internet, you face security risks. You can no longer afford to assume that your business won't be a target because you're not big enough. Here are some big business takeaways that can substantially benefit your business' security.
After years of hype, artificial intelligence is ready to disrupt the workforce – and it’s time for executives across industries to pay attention.
Discover how small businesses are using insights gleaned from data mining to rethink operations, offerings and outlooks.
E-waste is one of the fastest growing components of the waste stream. Discover why your company needs to consider enforcing take-back or recycling policies.
Do you know how much your business should spend on security to protect its big data?
