Here’s How Decentralization Can Help Protect Your Privacy
Reading Time: 4 minutesMuch of the web is centralized, but there are major privacy benefits that come with decentralization. Should you seek out decentralized alternatives?
The concept of decentralization is simple. It refers to the idea that no single entity has control over something.
This can apply to organizations, banks, web services, the internet, servers, messaging apps, and countless others. With so much being centralized, this can often seem like the most convenient approach.
But convenience isn’t all that matters. Can decentralization help better protect your privacy? Yes. Yes it can.
How Centralized Tech Falls Short on Privacy
Traditionally, most information technology implementations have adopted the centralized approach. While it has evolved over the years, this does not mean that the data is more secure or private.
We all have witnessed several data breaches compromising personal information and credentials. And almost every service involved with a data breach was centralized. This is a problem, because while you can protect yourself after a data breach to some extent, doing so takes time and may be too inconvenient for some.
It is safe to assume that centralization does not necessarily mean better security and privacy. Yes, it gives a single point of control for convenience, but it has nothing special to enhance security and privacy.
So, how is centralization less secure and riskier when everything gets protection under a single roof? Because attackers find it easier to focus on one target instead of dozens at a single point in time.
One vulnerability can compromise the entire network and give access to a huge pile of data, and with a larger pool of data at risk, the reward exponentially increases.
Some examples include attacks that have taken place on social media platforms and hospital systems. The malicious attackers managed to grab information such as email addresses, phone numbers, biometric data, and more. This helps them steal identities and conduct effective phishing scams.
A centralized service isn’t just vulnerable to outside attack. A centralized network can enable a rogue employee to access personal information with proper authorization. Sure, not every centralized service allows this to happen, but it is possible when there is a single point of access.
Centralization has made massive data breaches a reality, whether by a rogue employee, human error, or a vulnerability exploited by an attacker. Overall, a centralized system comes with a more significant threat to privacy
How Decentralized Tech Improves Data Privacy
Decentralized systems ensure no single point of control, meaning the data is scattered through multiple points. It also means that there is no single point of failure, which enhances the durability of the network as a whole.
On the surface, decentralization immediately makes things harder to find and connect while providing a more robust form of network. If there are no centralized databases, the impact of data breaches will be automatically minimized or even eliminated.
Furthermore, concepts like decentralized identities make it possible for services to operate with less personal information. Organizations like Decentralized Identity Foundation are working hard to use open standards and decentralized ecosystems to facilitate authentication where the user remains in control without a centralized system.
In other words, decentralization gives more user control over the data shared to use a service.
Decentralization doesn’t just give more control back to the user. It can also remove a central authority’s control over whether you have access to your own personal information and prevent a central authority from having access as well. Overall, decentralization minimizes the need to share more information, protects pieces of your personal information better, and restores a degree of personal autonomy.
Areas Where Decentralized Tech Excels at Privacy
The decentralized tech adoption rate is low, but it is constantly rising as more users and organizations get to know its benefits and learn how to implement it with ease.
Some services may never adopt a decentralized approach because of a lack of central control and less access to personal information.
Fortunately, there are some excellent examples where decentralization has given better user privacy. Some of the areas where you can realize it include:
Data Storage Networks
Networks like BitTorrent are decentralized storage options that provide the benefits of reliability, censorship resistance, and letting users move away from big tech.
There are some commercial implementations making use of blockchain as well. They may not be super popular, but they have been successful at encrypting data and storing them in decentralized chunks.
This way an attacker cannot make sense of the data or connect pieces to associate with any personal information in case of a breach.
Messaging Services
Messaging apps like Session have enabled users to interact and connect without needing a phone number. There are many other reasons to give Session a try but being a decentralized platform is one of the key highlights.
Overall, you get instant enhanced privacy when messaging services take a decentralized approach while ensuring that the network is censorship-resistant to exchange sensitive information.
Internet Privacy
Solutions like the Tor network allow users to take control of their privacy and digital freedom without the fear of tracking and surveillance.
Many decentralized options like the VPN alternative ControlD also help you secure your DNS and take control of it. You will find several similar implementations to help you enhance online privacy, built using decentralized tech.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency requires no introduction. Bitcoin is one of the biggest examples that provides excellent privacy for online purchases, and many services have also started accepting Bitcoin payments.
Sure, it may not replace the fiat currency anytime soon. But its privacy benefits are helpful to many users.
Social Networks
The same concept also applies to social media networks, where no single company controls the platform.
When people started looking for Twitter alternatives, decentralized options like Mastodon became a better choice, giving the user control over their data without any third party tracking their usage.
Less Convenience, but Plenty of Benefits
There are many benefits to decentralized tech. However, it is not easy to convert a centralized system to a decentralized network in a short span of time. And some services often do not have the best implementations or experience with decentralization.
Nevertheless, given the privacy implications, we should encourage more services to adopt a decentralized approach. Until then, you might want to enhance your privacy protection techniques to minimize the amount of information you share on the internet.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/how-decentralization-can-help-protect-your-privacy/
Ref: makeuseof
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