Blockchain is a good way to solve data privacy for big data applications.

• Read original article here

The news site Business Insider reported that on Saturday local time, someone posted the personal privacy information of 533 million Facebook users for free on a hacker forum. This personal data included phone numbers, Facebook login IDs, full names, addresses, and birthdates, resumes, email address, etc. The published personal privacy information data involved 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including 32mil American users, 11mil British users, and 6mil Indian users.

On Saturday, Alon Gal, the chief technology officer of Hudson Rock, an intelligence company that tracks and studies cybercrime, first saw the data leaked online. A Facebook spokesperson told “Business Insider” that the data was obtained by using a loophole, but the company has patched the loophole in 2019.

Gal said that the data stolen two years ago may have provided valuable information to cybercriminals, allowing them to use this personal information to for fraud.

“Business Insider” compared several leaked user ID information with real Facebook users and confirmed that the leaked information is true. In addition, “Business Insider” also tested the Facebook user password reset function on leaked user email addresses or phone numbers, and the results were all successful.

Like Google, the advertising business accounts for a high percentage of the revenue of the two giants, ant the use of big data is crucial to their business model. But big data can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand it can facilitate a personal customized life online for users, but on the other hand, personal data leaks make users vulnerable to cybercrime.

These kinds of incidents have the same root cause “data leaks.”. But this problem can be solved by using blockchain technology:

Blockchain is nothing new to people who are familiar modern technology. It is an emerging technology that integrates distributed computing, cryptography, and accounting principles. The reason why blockchain is safe is that it incorporates cryptography. Modern cryptography uses what is called a hash function: Hash(x) = y.

For a conventional function f(x)=y, knowing the value y, one can calculate x, and y can be calculated by knowing x. This is called bidirectionality of the function, but a hash function Hash(x) = y is “one-way only”. The one-way nature means that it is nearly impossible to find x even when knowing y.

At the same time, blockchain technology can protect the privacy of data in the case of data sharing. For example, data such as user preferences and habits can be shared according to users’ choices for serve marketing purposes. Users can directly benefit from data sharing and at the same time obtain incentives in the token system. A social platform supported by blockchain technology can avoid the trouble of advertisers’ spam; original content producers can also profit from their creations instead of being deprived of their rights by the platform.

After applying the blockchain, whether it is Facebook or Google who wants to see your data, they need your authorization. Even if they shares the data with other merchants later, your authorization is required for the other merchants to access it. So without your authorization, your data cannot be abused by third parties, thereby solving the problem of data leaks.