What are public and private blockchains?<\/h2>\n
In a public system, anyone can join the network, they can both read and write transactions. These systems are decentralized, meaning no user has sole control. Once data is validated on the system it can\u2019t be changed. Public blockchains are popular for cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n
Unlike public blockchains, private systems place restrictions on who\u2019s allowed to participate. Users are authorized with credentials, issued by a certification authority. Users are then allowed different privileges, whether that\u2019s read-only, or whether they can input transactions on the data chain.
\n![\"blockchain](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2019\/11\/29083139\/to_blockchain_or_not_to_blockchain_hamlet2-2-1.jpg\")
\nFor businesses, private blockchain systems have huge benefits \u2013 whether it\u2019s accelerating bookkeeping or accounting, reducing indirect costs of manufacturing processes and large-scale software, or just guaranteed authentic data transactions. And they\u2019re becoming more and more popular by the minute.<\/p>\n
According to the IDC Worldwide Blockchain 2018-22 forecast<\/a>, total spending in private blockchain will reach $US 12.4b by 2022. But who is set to benefit?<\/p>\n The financial industry is leading the way for private blockchain uptake. A major benefit is reducing the cost of cross-border transactions, which accounted for 27 percent of global transaction revenue in 2017, according to McKinsey<\/a>. UBS and Barclays are experimenting with blockchain to streamline back office functions and settlement, which some\u00a0in the industry<\/a>\u00a0think could save up to $20B.<\/p>\n According to CB Insights<\/a>, a raft of industries will benefit from blockchain, including managing music rights, ride sharing, and even controlling the source and sale of cannabis. It\u2019s clear that many companies are realizing the positive impact blockchain systems can have on their operations.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the Chief Information Officer for Poste Italiane said:<\/p>\n Blockchain is not just a buzzword or a myth anymore, it\u2019s becoming the foundation for establishing a distributed, transparent and cross-industry interoperable ecosystem.<\/p>\n Mirko Mischiatti<\/strong><\/p> Chief Information Officer, Poste Italiane (Member of the Hyperledger community)<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n Hyperledger is a collection of platforms, hosted by the Linux Foundation, designed to solve business problems using DLT, they include Fabric<\/a>, Indy<\/a> and Sawtooth<\/a> to name a few. Components of the Hyperledger platforms are built around the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) security triad model<\/a> \u2013 which makes them very effective. It\u2019s one of the oldest security frameworks connected to blockchain structure and it helps organizations structure their security strategy, especially when it comes to protecting important information.<\/p>\n In a nutshell, Hyperledger encrypts certain types of data within DLT. It uses cryptographic hashing<\/a> \u2013 a method of coding that converts any form of data into a unique string of text \u2013 which means you can stop people tampering with information through impenetrable encryptions. And it has a decentralized nature, which means you\u2019ll always have timely and reliable access to data. But like all new technologies, there are risks if it\u2019s not protected correctly.<\/p>\n There are still some things that can go wrong with DLT. Notably, encryption can\u2019t protect your data transactions from corruption against software bugs and configuration errors. Similarly, data can be tampered with when there are security network breaches. Ultimately, having a DLT in place will make your data processes safer and more efficient, but if you don\u2019t have the right endpoint products<\/a> to protect them, you could still face trouble.<\/p>\n DLT risks exist in three separate areas:<\/p>\n This is where operating systems, databases and containers live. These components inherently have vulnerabilities, so the big thing here is making sure your system software is watertight. Notably, make sure everything is configured properly \u2013 including remote access for your employees \u2013 firewalls are up and running and finally run a vulnerability scan from external and internal network perimeters.<\/p>\n This is where your chaincode is located. Essentially, chaincode is the \u2018smart contract<\/a>,\u2019 \u2013 an agreement between two participants in the form of computer code. They can\u2019t be changed, and can be executed without a third party (intermediate). The main thing is that chaincode needs to be executed in exactly the same way by every participant (also known as a node) of the network to avoid an inconsistency (indeterminacy) among execution results. A simple example here is a use of random numbers which will produce different results every time a contract is run, so it\u2019s best to avoid such situations and should you need a random number within your contract, supply it from outside the contract environment.<\/p>\n Applications are the various software development applications interacting with your DLT. These are usually end-user applications, which are vulnerable to all kinds of human-related threats like phishing or malware. When thinking about how these applications are interacting with your DLT, it\u2019s important to invest in endpoint protection<\/a>, like an anti-virus software. It\u2019s also important to perform application security assessments, like penetration testing, to see how cyber-secure your system really is.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s the benefits and the potential risks of DLTs. So you\u2019re probably asking yourself\u2026<\/p>\n Yes. If your business can justify using a DLT, and the use case is right for it, then go ahead. You\u2019ll be able to store data transactions safely, hiding them from unauthorized users and making them hacker-proof with encryptions. Just remember: to feel the benefits you need to protect your DLT with the right security software<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blockchain in business is peaking. Why? Here\u2019s what you need to know before you invest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2538,"featured_media":31635,"template":"","coauthors":[3584],"class_list":{"0":"post-31625","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-blockchain","7":"emagazine-category-scale-your-business-business"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/blockchain-or-not-blockchain\/31625\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/blockchain-or-not-blockchain\/21875\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/blockchain-or-not-blockchain\/20255\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/31625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=31625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Private blockchain in action<\/h2>\n
The risks of using DLT<\/h2>\n
DLT risks and how to stop them<\/h2>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Infrastructure<\/h3>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Business logic<\/h3>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Applications<\/h3>\n
\u2026 to blockchain, or not to blockchain? To DLT, or not to DLT?<\/h2>\n