Security would look good on you
You know that feeling of traveling abroad and recalling the travel agent’s warning: “Beware of pickpockets?“ Several times a day you reach around to see if your backpack really is still on your shoulder, or if your wallet is still in that back pocket. Security measures have gotten sometimes fashionably ridiculous, going beyond the tasteless fanny pack, now using cross-straps over both shoulders with hidden zippers and safety buttons to keep a small passport and wallet close to the torso. It’s fashion sacrificed to the gods of security.
The demand for security – including in the cyber world – has increased dramatically in lieu of developments over the past decade. Stolen cardholder information, hacked internet data, phishing attacks, ransomware – you name it. In a survey of 1000 companies in 10 countries done by the Cyberedge Group, data reveals that in 2014, 62% lost data to cyber attacks. That percentage increased in 2015 to 71% and to 74% in 2016. We are facing an endemic rise of security threats that require more and more safety measures.
One thing that blockchain technology will offer better than its alternatives is security. Why? Because if someone is concerned that their jewels will be stolen, they will choose the most effective means, regardless of other downsides. But if there were incentives to use something attractive, easy to use and effective, it would win in the choice race. And blockchain offers something very sexy: anyone and everyone can use it.
Do you remember the VHS competitor “Beta-Max,“ or the cassette tape forerunner 8-track? They didn‘t make the cut because they were terribly impractical when compared to their challengers. Their competitors offered an incentive: they were easier to use. Blockchain is both terribly secure as well as incredibly practical.
The bitcoin blockchain for example uses asymmetric cryptography, which means that two users get two keys: one for encryption, the other for decryption. That means that the digital currency isn’t stored somewhere on file, but users hold their cryptokeys to their own currency and transact with each other directly. In the end, security needs measures that mitigate the risk significantly but don’t cripple our lives. And at the same time don‘t make us wear fanny packs. Blockchain requires and provides this type of easy and attractive security. Safe because of its asymmetric encrypting method. Easy because it doesn’t take you endless time and effort.
The British designer Matthew Williamson said, “I believe in a fashion that works for any woman, at any age, of any size and at any price.“ I believe the same is true for security. If there is any hope for a safer (and better-looking) world, then blockchain shall provide.