Securing and Validating sensitive data/credentials through use of DLT/Blockchain algorithm
Innovation Tagline: Transactions Made Secure
Project Keywords: #DLT #avoid-theft #Blockchain #data-security
Project Members
- Ashfaque Ahamed F Ashfaque Ahamed ( CSE Student at Mohamed Sathak A.J College of Engineering - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashfaque-ahamed-f-520746213/)
- Parnandhi Rohan Parnandhi Rohan ( IT Student at Mohamed Sathak A.J College of Engineering - https://www.linkedin.com/in/parnandhi-rohan-9368aa1ab/ )
- Abrar Musharraf P Abrar Musharraf (CSE Student at Mohamed Sathak A.J College of Engineering - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrar-musharraf-ab5a50230 )
- Imaam Jaffar J Imaam Jaffar (IT Student at Mohamed Sathak A.J College of Engineering - https://www.linkedin.com/in/imaam-jaffar-j-550374233)
Project Description (no more than 1,000 words including graphics)
Introduction
In the age of Internet, a lot of transactions have become online, making our day to day lives easier and productive. We no longer need to venture outside and pay in cash as various payment gateways and online shopping websites have popped up in the last decade.
As the number of customers and transactions increase, the riskier it gets to store all that information in a centralized database of a company. Various service companies and online markets have databases that store all the user’s information in one place. Our main objective is to reduce the risk of potential loss of data/data corruption or malicious hacking of data.
When using our debit/credit cards for online shopping, we store those sensitive credentials in their database for future payments/transactions. For the average user, trust is built through fame and recognition of the company so we don’t really bother about the safety of this information as trust is built. But if a data breach/hacking occurs in the company, all of our personal information and bank credentials would be at stake.
To solve this problem, we use Distributed Ledger Technology or DLT in short, to securely store our sensitive data and provide a key to trusted clients/service providers to access them and complete transactions securely
Problem
Loss of Valuable Data through data leak/hacking/file corruption may occur.
As most of the Companies storing the user data in a centralized database, if any security issues like Data Breach, Hacking or Data corruption pop up, the whole data is in jeopardy.
As almost every companies are store data through databases, if someone provides a better security approach such as DLT/Block chain algorithm to the user's data, they(the users) will definitely gain trust that will potentially lead to good growth in company as more and more customers would approach that company as it has better security in terms of Data Handling.
Solution
To solve this problem we will use DLT to securely store our sensitive credentials and provide a key to trusted clients/service providers granting them access and completing transactions securely
As we use DLT/Blockchain, it is not going to be in a centralized database so even if there is a malicious cyber attack, it is virtually impossible to hack into the Blockchain/DLT and access the sensitive information.
This kind of security may only be possible by the use of DLT and in the future if we develop this idea into a project, this will be revolutionary when it comes to Data Security.
How we could potentially use DLT/Blockchain for data storing:
- Break up data into chunks.
- Encrypt the data so that you are the only one with access to it.
- Distribute files across a network in a way that means all your files are available, even if part of the network is down.
Essentially, instead of handing your files to a company like Amazon or Microsoft, you distribute it across a network of people all over the world. The cloud is shared by the community, and nobody can read or tamper with anyone else’s sensitive data. In other words, you stay in control. This could also be useful in public services to keep public records safe, available, and decentralized.
Another model is to just save a cryptographic signature of a document or file on a Blockchain. This would give users a way to ensure a file is untampered, without needing to save the entire file on the Blockchain. When you look at a file, you can guarantee that it is the same version of the document that existed at another time.
Smart contracts can also be used with Blockchains. These ensure that certain transactions happen when certain conditions are met, meaning records can be programmed to be changed or updated automatically.
Accomplishment and Team
We are a team of students currently pursuing our undergraduate degree at Mohamed Sathak A.J College of Engineering(MSAJCE). In a team of four, we encourage each other during the ideate phase and it's a supportive team . We strive to learn new technologies and develop our skills and knowledge about the upcoming and futuristic technologies and find it fascinating to learn and grow at the same time.
Our team includes:
- Ashfaque Ahamed F - A Computer Science Engineering Student in his 3rd year of study
- Parnandhi Rohan - An Information Technology Student in his 3rd year of study
- Abrar Musharraf P - A Computer Science Engineering Student in his 2nd year of study
- Imaam Jaffar J - An Information Technology Student in his 2nd year of study
We currently lack guidance and mentor support for this idea to come to its fruition but would definitely learn more and research more in hopes of one day being able to finish the final product.
Project Plan
Main Objective is:
- To revolutionize cloud storage by putting the user back in control over their devices and their data.
- The decentralized aspect of DLT means there are no central servers to be compromised, and because of the use of client-side encryption, only the end users have access to their un-encrypted files and encryption keys.
To do this:
- Research more into DLT and its applications thoroughly
- Develop a platform to store these credentials securely
- Give users control of what they want to store, edit and delete whenever they want with an encryption key
- Provide transparency through the use of DLT
- Market Research
- Finding Investors and Funding to further develop this idea
Advantages
- Blockchain provides a decentralized, transparent database that ensures trust between network participants
- Deny illicit attempts to change data or applications within the network.
- You don’t have to worry about anyone else having access to any of your data.
- Data integrity is a foundational property of data stored on the blockchain. Accessing and modifying the data stored on the blockchain is nearly impossible without notifying and seeking consensus from the entire network
- Your data is distributed all over the world, so it is highly available when you need it.
Limitations
- If a DLT/Blockchain network isn’t large or well distributed, it becomes vulnerable to attacks.
- Network communication overhead can be huge.
- This is a problem for engineers and will largely determine how viable this technology will be.
- A balance between usability, speed, and security needs to be found.