Blockchain: More secure and robust than a compliance program?

We start from the assumption that Blockchain technology is already robust and in fact, very robust. What arguments can we put forward in defense of this robustness when we find a skeptical techno interlocutor or client who, out of conservatism, prefers to cling to anachronistic systems? This is a question that brings several aspects, but I can tell you that everything that is online, it is understood that it is susceptible to be hacked; this is a lukewarm conception. Blockchain, per sé, is unalterable, hacking is not so feasible because of its encrypted information and the distribution that the nodes have. However, in my appreciation, the Blockchain that have been presented, that have been registered and that have been studied by auditors, have not had such important flaws. Mostly, what I have seen is issues of a buffer overflow, which is when the software presented an error. Because the memory does not control everything that is being copied. But with respect to the thefts of funds, they are due more to the security protocols of the people who own these cryptoassets, than to other problems.

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I believe that people generate these effects, these security protocols, not so much in the network, but in people, whether through computer attacks, ransomware, phishing or any aspect of cybersecurity. The attacks that have been suffered, which have had an impact on people who have cryptocurrencies, why have they been? It is because when one already has cryptocurrencies and passes them on, they are no longer one's, and as they are decentralised they become centralised, and if one of these exchanges does not have good security, then the theft of these cryptocurrencies has occurred due to these security failures. That is why, as always, the real security is good antivirus, firewalls, and activation of second factors.

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I do say that as such, the Blockchain network is very robust, it depends on the uses that people make of it. But I do want to draw attention to something that is very important, leaving the field of cryptocurrencies, where full attention must be paid so that these bugs do not appear. In the audit of smart contracts, the slightest error in their programming is a direct entry point for hackers. So, this is an important point that we cannot leave, even if it is robust at the time of programming and now with so much development, the security of the smart contract is vital. That's why, for me, Blockchain is synonymous with trust, not only because of the distributed records, but because no other technology we have can offer something similar.

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And what do I mean by that? Trust, because it has the traceability of those registered, it has a high level of security against attacks, the information is encrypted, the information that is registered is validated by others and that is what is important, to have this transparency. And confidence that from an infrastructure with high resilience and transactional security systems, in the event of a hack, all the other actors acting as nodes have a copy of the information, which is what is currently happening. And the fact is that no matter how many recognised companies and no matter how much recognition or standards they have, they have all suffered attacks and I believe that Blockchain will solve that, and that is why it is considered the technology that is going to revolutionise the Internet. 

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The truth is that if you have not convinced them so far, I am sure that from now on they will be less sceptical with your answer. Now, coming down to the practical part, which Blockchain platforms have you worked with and which ones would you recommend for each segment of a compliance programme implementation project? All this, in relation to pre-constitutional evidence, time stamping, identity certification, transaction recording, etcetera.

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When we review the issue of Blockchain platforms, already in a business sector, I consider that the most important are at the moment: Ethereum, Hyperledger, Corda, Ripoll, Icon, are the five most important, but in my opinion Hyperledger offers a very good guarantee, because it has additional open source segments, which allows a community to participate in that open source and enrich that ecosystem and is very robust, so it seems to me that it is an excellent platform. 

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My view, with respect to the developers who are the most knowledgeable people, is that it is a platform that offers a unique approach to consensus and allows for large-scale performance, while at the same time preserving good privacy. So I think it is a very good application for databases and auditing.