Public blockchain networks
A public blockchain is one that anyone can join and participate in, such as Bitcoin. Drawbacks might include substantial computational power required, little or no privacy for transactions, and weak security. These are important considerations for enterprise use cases of blockchain.
Private blockchain networks
A private blockchain network, similar to a public blockchain network, is a decentralized peer-to-peer network, with the significant difference that one organization governs the network. That organization controls who is allowed to participate in the network, execute a consensus protocol and maintain the shared ledger. Depending on the use case, this can significantly boost trust and confidence between participants. A private blockchain can be run behind a corporate firewall and even be hosted on-premises.
Permissioned blockchain networks
Businesses who set up a private blockchain will generally set up a permission-based blockchain network. It is important to note that public blockchain networks can also be a permission. This places restrictions on who is allowed to participate in the network, and only in certain transactions. Participants need to obtain an invitation or permission to join.
Multiple organizations can share the responsibilities of maintaining a blockchain. These pre-selected organizations determine who may submit transactions or access the data. A consortium blockchain is ideal for business when all participants need to be permissioned and have a shared responsibility for the blockchain.
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording transactions, tracking assets and building trust.
Key elements of Blockchain:
Distributed ledger technology: All network participants have access to the distributed ledger and its immutable record of transactions. With this shared ledger, transactions are recorded only once, eliminating the duplication of effort that’s typical of traditional business networks.
Records are immutable: No participant can change or tamper with a transaction after it’s been recorded to the shared ledger. If a transaction record includes an error, a new transaction must be added to reverse the error, and both transactions are then visible.
Smart contracts: To speed transactions, a set of rules – called a smart contract – is stored on the blockchain and executed automatically. A smart contract can define conditions for corporate bond transfers, include terms for travel insurance to be paid and much more.
Encryption is the encoding of a message so that only the intended addressee can decode it. Encryption software turns your message into an indecipherable sequence called ciphertext. Even if someone gets hold of your message, they won’t be able to access the encrypted data unless they have the key. Military-grade encryption is virtually impossible to crack as it uses 256-bit keys that generate 2^256 possible combinations. There are no supercomputers yet that can crack such a key within a reasonable amount of time.
End to end encryption (E2EE) encrypts your message throughout its whole journey between two end-points. It stays encrypted while traveling through intermediate servers and neither the service provider, nor your ISP or any third party can access it.
Without E2EE, your message is encrypted once it reaches a mid-point server that decrypts it. Thus, an entity controlling these servers (e.g. an ISP) might see your messages. However, if you use a VPN, this type of connection is much safer as a VPN service encrypts your traffic and changes your IP. Then your traffic can pass all the mid-points safely and privately.
Public Key Infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructures are required for activities where simple passwords are an inadequate authentication method and more rigorous proof is required to confirm the identity of the parties involved in the communication and to validate the information being transferred.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system or computer files until a sum of money is paid. Most ransomware variants encrypt the files on the affected computer, making them inaccessible, and demand a ransom payment to restore access.
Ransomware code is often not sophisticated, but it doesn’t need to be, because unlike many types of traditional malware, it usually does not need to remain undetected for long in order to achieve its goal. This relative ease of implementation versus high-profit potential attracts both sophisticated cybercrime actors, as well as novice ones to operate ransomware campaigns.