How Blockchain Can Help Stop Cybercrime

Cyber Hub Intelligence
4 min readJun 11, 2022

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Blockchain

Before talking about how to use blockchain to stop cybercrime, let’s start with some background on blockchain technology and how it works. A blockchain is what’s called a distributed ledger. This means that it’s a public, shared ledger of transactions that everyone can see but that no one person controls. Each transaction is publicly reported to the ledger as a block, chained together so that it cannot be changed or edited. A group of users known as miners verifies each block in the chain before moving on to the next one. Transactions are added to this chain as they occur in real-time. They’re not stored off-site, and they aren’t moved or backed up elsewhere, like in traditional digital databases.

Blockchain and cybersecurity

The blockchain is also immutable — it can’t be edited once something has been entered into the ledger without creating a new block of code for each change made to the previous block. This creates an unbroken chain of information that makes hacking very difficult. All subsequent blocks need to be re-verified by miners if you want to make changes to them, which again would require writing new blocks.

The only way you could successfully hack this system would be to convince 51 percent of miners in real-time that your changes were legitimate and should stand as true. Even then, your changes would only hold until someone else came along with enough computing power who didn’t agree with your edits and wanted to replace them, thus starting their chain. In other words, this kind of hacking isn’t likely to happen since such a hack could require billions of dollars worth of computing power just for one small blockchain network. Not even including the cost of all those powerful computers needed for mining.

Identity management

A blockchain is a powerful tool that could soon be used to combat cybercrime. Here’s how it works:

You have probably heard of the blockchain in relation to cryptocurrencies, but its applications are much more varied than just digital currencies. At its core, it is a distributed database that can be used as an open and transparent ledger of any activity. A single database is stored across many different computers. If any person tries to change one part of the database, they will have to change every instance of that database all at once. which makes it virtually impossible for hackers to tamper with or alter information on the blockchain.

This means that the blockchain can be applied to improve identity management. Identity management involves identifying people so you know who you are interacting with online and preventing fraud by determining if someone is who they say they are and preventing them from falsely claiming ownership of another person’s identity or assets. This is essential for combating cybercrime because we need a way to identify criminals based on their online activities.

Detecting and stopping cybercrime

As cybercriminals become more sophisticated and as IT systems become more widely distributed, companies will have to find a way to stay ahead of the curve. The blockchain is one technology that could be used to help preserve the integrity of information and transactions. The transparency of the blockchain allows anyone with access to view its contents, so it’s difficult for cybercriminals to hide their tracks. The encryption, hashing, and other security features built into each block will also help protect against certain types of attacks by ensuring unauthorized people can’t edit their contents or insert themselves into the middle of a transaction chain.

The Future of Blockchain for Cybersecurity

The future of blockchain for cybersecurity is bright. As technology becomes more sophisticated and widespread, it’s possible that blockchain could become the way backbone of the internet, revolutionizing everything from online transactions to personal identification. It’s important to remember that while blockchain can be used to help make the internet more secure, its abilities are not limited to cybersecurity for now. However, this technology will be an important tool in helping to protect people’s identities and information as they conduct business online.

Blockchain will be a powerful tool in the fight against cybercrime.

How can the blockchain be used to combat cybercrime?

Imagine a world where you no longer have to worry about identity theft. Your personal information is so secure on the blockchain that cybercriminals could not access it even if they tried.

Blockchain technology can be used in many ways, including identity management. The ability to manage and protect identities will help with detecting and stopping cybercrime before it happens. Blockchain will be a powerful tool in the fight against cybercrime by preventing hackers from accessing data and getting rich off of it.

This article was first published on the Cyber Hub Intelligence blog

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Cyber Hub Intelligence
Cyber Hub Intelligence

Written by Cyber Hub Intelligence

A community where passionate cybersecurity professionals and tech enthusiasts converge! Learn More: linktr.ee/cyberhubintel

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