Big Data Opportunities Using Blockchain

Data Overload Discussion

Data has been growing in the cloud at an increasing pace, leading to more complex data sets and more available information. Complexity is the enemy of security, but it allows many benefits in new technology (Bertino, 2018). A large attack surface is vulnerable in more ways, which is why we have seen an increase in attacks every year (Andress, 2014). Walled gardens (or data silos) have become a way of centralizing the internet for Amazon, Google, Apple, and others. Well-funded security departments have not secured our data, they have merely become a way to avoid legal ramifications after a breach (Gilder, 2018). Massive amounts of data can be a blessing to an enterprise, but publicly known breaches of data can be a curse. Throwing money at security departments has failed to solve the problems of big data, because modern IT systems are designed to capitalize on the use of that data. They were designed to be functional, not secure, and that is the fundamental flaw of centralized systems, such as cloud servers. Security is the most important part of any computer system, and if security is not integral to a system, it must be replaced.
How to manage big data

Companies must deal with new types of data from disparate sources, such as IoT devices, and this is becoming a mess for traditional data management (Hu, 2014). When databases were simpler, traditional techniques worked well because most of it went neatly into rows and columns. Some organizations still regard data as numbers to mine and report on using graphs, but that era has passed (Longbottom, 2011). Unbounded data is that which can be pulled from a range of disparate sources, yet still be conjured together to yield useful information. Rows of numbers can be mixed together with pictures, videos, audio files and IoT metadata.

Data breaches have become more common every year, despite increasing amounts of investment in security. Traditional data management and security approaches have failed, and we need a revolutionary approach to fix this problem. Big organizations have attempted to collect data in “the cloud” and then secure it. But this approach is fundamentally flawed. Cloud data becomes a walled garden with a false sense of security because clouds solve the biggest problem facing hackers: they show where the important data resides.

“Base” is the Key Difference

Data management is a broad discipline, while database management is more specific. While they may refer to different levels in the hierarchy, both positions are essential to identifying opportunities found within collected data (Kadlec, 2011). The Internet of Thing (IoT) is creating much of the data overload being experienced by some organizations. Adapting to this new data overload requires a new business model. The evolution of this “connected” business model can be divided into five stages (Bertino, 2018):

1. Device connectivity and data forwarding
2. Real-time monitoring
3. Data analytics
4. Automation
5. Enhancing on-board intelligence

Blockchain is being developed in financial, healthcare, government, and insurance industries. The information world is changing for the better because of it (Laurence, 2017). Some industries have moved much of their data offline, which makes that data more difficult to access. Properly designed blockchains may well allow much more data to reside on a network, without revealing sensitive bits to hackers. This idea will increase in importance as businesses receive more data that they need quickly accessible, such as that which is obtained from real-time monitoring. But firewalls and 256-bit encryption have not prevented this data from leaking, so some firms have adopted the mantra: Nothing critical goes on the network (Gilder, 2018).

Power consumption is one problem that has risen along with the cloud industry. Massive data centers require enormous amounts of electricity, while radiating heat into the atmosphere and giving legitimate cause for environmental concern. They use more energy than almost any other industry ever has. And some are concerned that blockchains use more energy than a standard data center. Environmentalists have a legitimate point against the use of blockchains considering the energy being consumed on just the original Bitcoin blockchain. But if we follow the environmental argument through to its logical extreme, we will be inclined to eliminate cloud computing altogether. Some may even argue against the use of any computing equipment, but most people prefer using smartphones and computers connected to the internet. Most people would not accept losing all cloud service providers, so we must learn to come up with a more advanced way of dealing with all this networked data.

Progress Never Ceases

We are currently in a transition stage from blockchain resistance to mass acceptance, because it is a rapid phenomenon that is already in motion. When I first told my investment advisor about Bitcoin in 2016, he had never heard of a blockchain or Bitcoin. Over 40 top financial institutions are now actively exploring blockchain with the intent to lower transaction cost, decrease transaction time, reduce fraud, and eliminate the middleman. (Singhal, Dhameja, & Panda, 2018). Decentralizing their databases has myriad benefits for big businesses, and will prepare them for the increasing deluge of data which needs secured and stored on a network.

The Internet Changed

The internet was meant to be peer-to-peer when it was built on the TCP/IP protocols. But big businesses came along and tried to become the gatekeepers of information. Google wants to control what you find, Amazon wants to control what you buy, Apple wants to control which applications are available on your phone, and all of them want your information. Companies have even sprung up for the sole purpose of tracking you, because they can sell that information to businesses who want to market to you. These companies track data flows from IP addresses and have become good at tracking individuals across devices and network addresses.

The Gatekeepers of Information

The internet was not invented for the purpose of spying, but social media platforms take it even further. Facebook, Twitter, Google + and all the other centralized social media services build up profiles on each individual, and keep that information even after users have deleted it. Disagree with their politics? You can now be deplatformed, censored, or shadow banned. Users have little control over their data, and this has become a major problem in the context of big data management (Schneier, 2015). But regardless of the social media service provider, they all have total control of user accounts, and that leaves us with the problems that we see highlighted in the media in 2018. Blockchain has some inherent benefits, but it is not a magic wand that can fix all the problems in the world. With this in mind, we can look at specific cases where blockchain can save the day (Singhal, Dhameja, & Panda, 2018).

The Clouds are Clearing

Conventional centralized cloud computing may soon give way to sky computing. Clouds are centralized walled gardens that have trust, security, privacy and cost issues. Sky computing is a decentralized form of computing over networks, and it is secured by a blockchain (Gilder, 2018). By eliminating intermediaries (trusted 3rd parties), people can transact securely online. The original internet was not really intended for transactions or security, so this will be a revolution of sorts. With security at the core of blockchains, genuine verification of transactions can occur without double spending or hackers stealing assets (Luther, 2018). Because the transactions are immutable and decentralized, greater transparency is possible. Messages, pictures and other information can be indelibly included in the blockchain, and one example can be seen at https://cryptograffiti.info/ but there are more blockchains than Bitcoin’s out there.

Big data has changed how the world works for the better, but those improvements have brought along problems. Most new technologies bring about new problems, but continual development tends to bring the world into a new and better paradigm. Cars were touted as an improvement over horses, because of how clean they were compared to the abhorrible quantities of manure piling up in Boston and New York. But cars brought about a need for new skills in operation and repair, as well as pollution and climate concerns. Developments in transportation continue to this day, and few people seriously wish to switch back to horses. The evolution of transportation became increasingly connected with computers throughout the latter 20th century, and has become connected to cloud computing in the 21st. Sky computing is the next possibility to improve transportation, and all forms of networked computing in almost all industries.

Counterintuitive Adoption

While big data has allowed cloud computing to connect to Google and Tesla autonomous cars, they are still connected to centralized servers without oversight. These walled gardens have been hacker playgrounds for years, and hackers have already displayed their ability to crack into (newer, networked) automotive steering and braking systems during operation. While some fear new technologies such as autonomous cars and blockchain computing, both technologies are rapidly becoming more common. People who lose the ability to drive as they age will probably accept autonomous cars more rapidly than younger people, because of necessity. It is somewhat counterintuitive that the elderly would adopt a radical new technology first, but necessity is the mother of adoption… or something like that.

Another counterintuitive aspect is how the generation growing up now will be the most security conscious. We may expect the older and wiser amongst us to be more concerned with physical security, but when it comes to big data, it seems like adults everywhere quickly volunteer personal details to be given out to corporations and social media services we hardly know about. I am going out on a limb with this prediction, but it seems that the youth who are accustomed to being bullied online will be first to accept blockchain-based sky computing in favor of the silos owned by Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Dropbox and the rest. The new generation will want what Tim Berners-Lee wanted: a true sharing economy.

Sharing economies are difficult to achieve in centralized systems, but easily possible using blockchain technology. Imagine a peer-to-peer versions of Uber or AirBNB. They will also own their identity (Self-Sovereign Digital Identity) and monetize data using this technology (Singhal, Dhameja, & Panda, 2018). Companies are already proving how private blockchains can scale easily, and the public ones will improve with further developments. We should not despair when we see the challenges from massive data sets, because developments are constantly allowing us to improve how we manage and secure it. Blockchain will be one technology that underpins how big data is managed, and what developments are possible in the coming decades.
 
References

 Andress, J. a. (2014). Cyber warfare: Techniques, tactics and tools for security practitioners. Waltham: Syngress.

Bertino, E. (2018). Security and Privacy in the IoT. IEEE International Conference on Communications. Kansas City: IEEE Communications Society. From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbAhTxzV0Fw

Gilder, G. (2018). Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy. Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing.

Hu, H. (2014). Toward Scalable Systems for Big Data Analytics: A Technology Tutorial. IEEE Acess, 2, 652-687.

Kadlec, J. (2011, January 12). Project Management for SQL Server DBAs and Developers. From MS SQL Tips: https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1350/project-management-for-sql-server-dbas-and-developers/

Laurence, T. (2017). Blockchain for Dummies. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Longbottom, C. (2011, August 24). Big data: large problems or huge opportunities? From Computer Weekly: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240105424/Big-data-large-problems-or-huge-opportunities

Luther, M. (2018, March 13). Blockchain or relational database? From TechBeacon: https://techbeacon.com/Blockchain-relational-database-which-right-for-your-application

Schneier, B. (2015). Data and Goliath. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Singhal, B., Dhameja, G., & Panda, P. (2018). Beginning Blockchain: A Beginner's Guide to Building Blockchain Solutions. New York: Apress.

Woody, A. (2013). Enterprise Security: A Data-Centric Approach to Securing the Enterprise. Birmingham: Packt Publishing.