The term Blockchain when broken down gives rise to two different words ‘block’ and ‘chain’, and it’s a peer-to-peer network. A collection of data is known as ‘block’ and ‘chain’ is a public database of such blocks that are collected as a list. The most important and primary requirement for building a blockchain is cryptography which is used to link the lists.
The role of security in blockchain:
Blockchain is a distributed database that offers the role of security, immutability, transparency and decentralization.
- Blockchain must ensure the safety of transactions, information and maintain transaction probity. For this reason, cryptography is extremely important for blockchain to protect the transaction details of users, information and privacy.
- The most important implementation of cryptography is to ensure the security of transactions and participants on the lack of any central authority controlling the Blockchain.
- Cryptography secures several transactions occurring in the network along with finding applications in authenticating the interchanging of digital coins. Trading cryptocurrencies is not a friendly task for beginners, it can be chaotic and risky. In such a case, the blockchain technology app can provide some help in trading.
Cryptography:
It is a procedure of developing protocols that will remove the involvement of a third party from accessing and obtaining information from the private data during communication activity. The terms associated with cryptography are:
- Encryption – the procedure of changing a normal text into a cipher text or incidental sequence of bits.
- Key – little amount of data is needed to bring about output of the cryptographic algorithm.
- Decryption – the reverse of encryption that is, transforming ciphertext into a normal text.
- Cipher – the cryptographic algorithm that is used to change a plain text into a cipher text.
Types of cryptography:
The different types of cryptography are, Symmetric-key cryptography, Asymmetric-key cryptography, Hah function.
Symmetric-key encryption – it is the primary type of encryption.
- It focuses on utilizing similar keys for encryption and also decryption of input.
- Most importantly, symmetric-key encryption is relevant in several information safety use cases like for example, encryption of a hard drive or the safeguard of the link to an HTTPS site.
- Also known as secret-key cryptography, the symmetric-key cryptography uses a similar key for encryption as well as decryption, this creates issues in the safety of transferring of the key between users in the receiver’s end and sender’s end.
Asymmetric-key encryption – this is the second type of method for encryption and plays a major role in cryptography applications in the Blockchain system.
- Also, known by the name of public key, the asymmetric-key encryption involves the use of several keys for the process of encryption and decryption.
Hash functions – this does not cause the use of any keys.
- A hash value of a particular length is generated from plain text with the use of a cipher.
- To recover the contents of plain text from ciphertext is almost not possible.
- Hash functions have a vital role in the linking of blocks to each other and also to sustain the integrity of information stored inside of every block.
The importance of cryptography in Blockchain:
- Cryptography is used by blockchain to safeguard identities of the users of the network, to maintain security of transactions. Cryptography ensures the safety of information stored in blockchain along with its validity.
- For blockchain, digital signatures are a vital part of the protocol to protect data. Digital signatures keep hackers at bay from ceasing them to alter data or imitate signatures of users. To be able to get access to the encrypted information a key is required to decrypt it. Cryptography permits the authentication of the message sent and controlling delivery.
Conclusion:
Cryptography makes blockchain a reliable and immutable technology and it is for this very reason that cryptography can be called the ‘core’ of the blockchain network. Cryptography maintains a secure transaction procedure taking place in the blockchain.
