Disruption through technology can bring either disaster or revolution in the economy, affecting people’s life. One industry which affects the economy and public is the data industry. Data has become so essential that many industries sell and purchase software user’s information for high prices to have an edge on the competition. According to a study, data is now a $300 billion a year industry in the world’s economy. But why people give away their personal information? Simple, to use these companies’ built IT infrastructure and other tools. For example, Facebook and WhatsApp, and this public information are often misused. This trust to relieve the public’s information has lost trust as we have seen for Facebook. But as we know necessity is the mother of innovation, a revolutionary technology was introduced among a community of tech-savvy individuals in 2008. This technology is known as the blockchain technology.
What Is Blockchain Technology?
The blockchain technology is a decentralized ledger. Meaning there is no authority to control the entire thing. When an individual part of the blockchain developed adds information on a block, the software notifies the other participants who are anonymous to each other. These parties are called nodes, and they check digital information added on a block by the first participant. Everyone approves and only when the block is attached to the entire blockchain. This process is known as Consensus. Moreover, a copy of this block is duplicated automatically with every node, and without 51% of nodes permission, information cannot be altered.
Features Of Blockchain Technology
- Decentralized ledger
The blockchain development might be by a blockchain development company but it cannot control the blockchain system, it only provides support and maintenance after the development process is done. The blockchain works on the peer-to-peer network. Each node works independently and adds blocks without any consent with other nodes. Only the consensus process decides the fate of a block created.
- Transparent information
In blockchain based application, the stored information is available to all, provided that individual is a node in the blockchain. To access a blockchain, one must have a public key but to obtain the information one must have cryptographically generated private key making a secure yet transparent data-blocks.
- Cryptographic Hash function
The most important feature which makes other features of blockchain possible is a hash function. A hash function is a cryptographically computed function which adds information in a block and connects the block with the previous block as well. So there are two hash function, one to calculate information to be added on blocks and second to join a block with other blocks. A hash function requires high computing power and equipment to perform.
- Immutable data
Through hash function, information is converted into a combination of numbers and characters up to 60 in total which cannot be changed once locked by consensus. For example, when one node tries to change information in a previous block, the connected blocks will show that change to all nodes on the blockchain. This way manipulation of data is impossible through hash functions.
- Anonymous peers
The blockchain based system keeps all the participants or nodes anonymous through a private key. But at the same time participant can decide to reveal their identity.
Benefits of Blockchain Technology to The Economy
- No third-party involvement
In this peer-to-peer network, only the blockchain based system is the third-party while exchanging information or doing any transaction. And the blockchain technology is decentralized and run collectively by those anonymous peers. Moreover, blockchain provides smart contract development through which financial or any other operation can be performed without a third-party trust.
- Democracy in sectorial decisions
The experiments are going on in many sectors with blockchain technology. Few of these sectors are the financial sector, health care, supply chain, and politics. Recently, The U.S. government declared a project which enables the blockchain based voting system. Through these kinds of elections on choosing our leaders will be untainted. The same can be applied to company management decisions allowing a true democracy everywhere.
- Cyber security
The biggest issue for any organization is keeping data secure within the organization. That is why these companies try to control every aspect of their operations, but blockchain features provide a solution to possible threats. An enterprise blockchain can stop hackers and potential threats to information being stolen or misused for illegal activity.
Everyday innovation in technology is increasing its speed, speeding up how young generation of professionals uses it to its benefits, that is why keeping up with every trending technology has become a necessity.