BLOCKCHAIN PRINCIPLES I - IMMUTABILITY

In the previous article of this series we commented in general on the three basic principles of Blockchain technology, which are immutability, decentralization and security. In this installment we are going to talk more deeply and in detail about the first of those principles – immutability and why is it advantageous for APIBreeders’ customers to be able to use this basic principle.

What is immutability?

Immutability is the ability of a Blockchain to be a permanent, indelible and unalterable transaction history, which is a key benefit. Immutability has the potential to transform the audit process into a fast, efficient and cost-effective procedure, and bring more trust and integrity to the data that businesses use and share every day.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on cybersecurity solutions aimed at preventing prying eyes from accessing our sensitive data. But rarely do we fight the internal cybersecurity battle: making sure our data hasn't been tampered with, tampered with, or falsified by a company or its employees. In many cases, we have come to simply trust that the data is correct through methods such as private keys and user permissions. But we can't really prove, methodically or mathematically, that the information in a standard application database is unequivocally free of tampering. The audit becomes our next (and expensive) line of defense.

Implementing Blockchain-based solutions brings an unprecedented level of trust about the data that businesses use on a daily basis. Using Blockchain, we can demonstrate to the interested parties that the information we submit and use has not been tampered with, while also making the audit process efficient, sensible, and cost-effective.

Why does immutability matter?

For a business, immutability as a result of a blockchain implementation represents huge overhead savings, as well as simplified audit efforts and fraud prevention.

Complete data integrity: A solution implemented on the Blockchain can guarantee the complete history and data tracking of an application. Once a transaction is attached to the information chain, the integrity of the chain can be validated at any time simply by recalculating the cryptographic proofs of each link; if there is a discrepancy between the data in the block and its corresponding proof that means the transactions are invalid. This allows organizations to quickly detect data manipulation.

Simplified auditing: Being able to produce the complete and indisputable history of the links or transactions in a blockchain allows for an easy and efficient auditing process. Demonstrating that the data has not been tampered with is a great benefit for companies that need to comply with industry regulations and the expectations of their customers.

Increased Efficiency: Keeping a complete historical record is not only a great help for auditing, but also provides new opportunities in inquiries, analysis, and general business processes.

This capability enables a great deal of time and cost savings, including tracking where major errors come from, auditing specific application data, backing up and restoring database state changes to retrieve information. Immutability can make modern data issues affecting business applications irrelevant.

The traceability solution we have implemented for APIBreeders, allows us to completely trust every piece of information. Also, we are able to offer our customers and users the peace of mind of knowing that all the information that is entered is protected from deletions and modifications thanks to the immutability offered by our blockchain iimplementation.