How Blockchain Boosts Cloud Security

In this digital world, online transactions and relations are mostly made with the aspect of trust being a default feature. Emails are sent with the assurance that they will be delivered and kept private, financial transactions are made with the trust that they will be delivered on time and to the appropriate recipient.  

Everything done online is done by relying on a third party to keep our digital assets, information, and data secure and safe. However, some of these trusted third parties fail our trust and get infiltrated sometimes.  

Blockchain technology which was first proposed as a research project in 1991 and brought into light in 1992 has, over the years, proven capable of transforming the digital world and serving the needed trust on a digital platter of gold by creating a distributed consensus system. 

With Blockchain, every single transaction, even digital assets can be checked at any time in the future as it is accurately recorded and it gives access to this record without compromising the security of digital assets. This way, cloud security is improved.  

What is Blockchain? 

Blockchain came into the mainstream in 2017. It is a digital technology that allows data to be stored and shared on a peer-to-peer system. It is like a bank ledger on which transactions are recorded.  

It keeps the information about data, times, amount, and other details of a transaction. It operates on a decentralized system which means “trusted third parties” are not included or needed.  

According to MIT Technology Review, What makes the blockchain system “theoretically tamper-proof” is two things; a cryptographic fingerprint unique to each block, and a “consensus protocol”, which is the process by which participants in the network agree on a shared transaction and shared history.  

A blockchain can also be said to be a digital transaction ledger which duplicated and shared across all participating networks on a blockchain.  

In a blockchain, each block in a chain is some transaction, and every time a new transaction is done on the system, a record of the transaction is updated on the ledger of every participant as a block. This decentralized form of transaction database is called Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).  

The Blockchain system is recorded with a cryptographic signature (usually done by a fingerprint) called a hash. This is another secure part of the system as if one block in a chain is changed, it would appear to have been tampered with and the participants will be notified. So hackers can not get through this system as they would have to change all the blocks in a chain, across the version distributed to all participants.  

What is cloud security? 

Cloud security is the security measures taken and designed to protect cloud-based information and data. These are the measures that ensure the security features like user and device authentication, data and data privacy protection, and resource access control.  

It is the way by which data stored in the virtual cloud is protected from theft, leakage, and loss (by deletion or corruption) through cloud computing platforms. Cloud security methods like firewalls, penetration testing, tokenization, Virtual Private Networks, etc are also forms of cyber security.   

Cloud security which is the solution to what most users and service providers are facing in this digital age, is that which provides security assurance in the cloud computing environment. Its methods are created specifically to protect against privacy threats, which are becoming common with the developing technology and methods.  

According to Statista, the top cloud security concerns are data loss and leakage, and data privacy/confidentiality, followed by accidental exposure of credentials. Thus, breach of cyber security is a problem to be tackled. 

How can Blockchain increase cloud security? 

1. Transparency – Blockchain is a system that provides transparency, thus, any suspicious or secret activity cannot take place on the network. Its sequential storage feature verifies transactions each time, so by creating a strong, connected, and organized chain of blocks, the Blockchain-based cloud storage also creates transaction records to verify ownership and identity. 

2. Prevents Data Tampering – One of the major problems of cloud storage is preventing data tampering and ensuring data safety. Inherently, Blockchain offers a way to track and backup transaction history in a way that confirms when the data has been tampered with, this means that it will show when it has been tampered with. It stored the hashes for the data blocks and this gives the data more originality. So if the data is tampered with, it would be glaring.  

3. Blockchain is decentralized – Instead of storing all its data transactions into a cloud server, Blockchain breaks it down into small chunks and distributes them across all the participating computer networks. It’s a digital ledger of transactions that lacks a central control point. Each computer, or node, has a complete copy of the ledger, so the problem of data loss in cloud storage is avoided, one or two nodes behind wrongful accessed or corrupted will not result in full data loss. Also, Blockchain removes the need for a middleman or rather, a “trusted third party”. There is no need to engage the services of a third party, the only provider you are to rely on is the decentralized, immutable ledger that keeps you informed of every activity on the network.  

4. Blockchain is virtually impossible to hack – Traditional cloud networks can be hacked into, and all the data in a repository can be removed or corrupted, however, this is difficult to do on a Blockchain network. This is because the data is encrypted, decentralized, and checked by all the participating networks, so once a transaction is recorded on a ledger, it is almost impossible to alter it without the networks noticing because the signatures will be invalidated. There are multiple nodes on a network and every legitimate transaction on the Blockchain system will need the confirmation of all the nodes. To hack the Blockchain, the nodes all have to be hacked at the same time which is nearly impossible and beyond the abilities of cyber criminals today.  

Will We Be Seeing More Blockchain Security in the Cloud? 

The blockchain serves as a solution to the digital problem of cloud security. Its decentralized system especially makes it difficult for hackers to get through cloud security to access and cause harm to data and information stored in it or steal digital assets.  

With Blockchain, the cloud will be safer and trust which users put in the system will be restored, Blockchain system is the future of cloud security.

About The Author

Robert Godard

Robert is a Principal with I.S. Partners, LLC’s Business Process/Advisory Services practice in Horsham, PA. Robert has conducted a variety of Financial Statement Audits for a range of industries such as banking, healthcare, payroll, employee benefit plans (Pension, Health and Welfare), Unions and Construction.

Robert’s specialty is in audits of IT Controls and Infrastructure, Financial Statements, SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits, HITRUST CSF Assessments, Model Audit Rule (MAR), including evaluating business process as well as IT General Controls surrounding the reporting of financial information. He also has experience with analyzing Health Insurance information from AmeriHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Express Scripts and Delta Dental. Additionally, Robert has performed audits for Construction and Special Tax related credits (Historical Tax Credits). He has prior work experience using ISSI, Great Plains and Peach Tree.

Prior to joining I.S. Partners, LLC, Robert was employed with Novak Francella in the Financial Statement Audit division, where he worked as an associate on external audit engagements in accordance with GAAP and DOL requirements.

Robert has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting from LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA.