Could blockchain solve the threat of ransomware?

Contribution piece for IDG Connect – originally published 19th May 2017. 

Over the past week, we have all experienced the impact of serious cyber threats. The hackers behind the recent ransomware attack are faceless and appear to have no regard for the impact their behaviour has on people’s lives. This is the reality of the world in which we now live. The distance a computer screen puts between the criminal and the victim seems to have rendered basic human morals non-existent.

Other recent cybersecurity attacks have seen many organisations purporting to have a magical solution to this threat. Realistically, however, there’s no silver bullet, and if there were, threats would evolve and develop to meet it. That being said, there are many exploring new technologies, such as blockchain, to try and develop a solution.

To understand how blockchain could reduce threats, we must first look at the way current computing architecture has been built. Historically enterprises have operated within their own centralised trust environments, managed through a hub of security policies, such as patching schedules. What has been made clear in recent days, is that this model is no longer fit for purpose.

More…

Read the original blog here