Tim Kravchunovsky, founder and CEO of the decentralized telecommunications network Chirp, says the news that almost all AT&T customers were the victims of a data breach highlights the need to store data on the blockchain
Tim Kravchunovsky, founder and CEO of the decentralized telecommunications network Chirp, says the combination of blockchain and AI not only provides tools to detect potential threats quickly, but also makes it impossible to hide such security breaches for two years.
“The latest news that hackers managed to steal call record data of nearly all AT&T customers back in 2022 is another reminder of all the vulnerabilities faced by the networks we rely on most. This is the second time this year AT&T has admitted to a major data breach, which appears to be becoming the rule, rather than the exception.
It’s also concerning that it takes more than two years to report these breaches, so there is no guarantee something similar isn’t happening right now. According to news reports, the provider says it has secured the data from further similar attacks, but we’ll only know for sure in two years’ time at this rate.
In the meantime, this could have already placed millions of customers at risk by allowing fraudsters to identify their homes, workplaces and close connections, which could help them target these individuals more effectively. In a digital world where we’re constantly accosted by phishing emails, phone calls and other forms of cyber fraud, the services we pay for shouldn’t create additional holes in our personal security. Clearly, the technological solutions we have in place to secure our data aren’t working any longer, so we need new ones.
Blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) have made it possible to have much more secure databases. Storing the data on an immutable ledger and tracking threats in real time allows for a rapid response before a breach occurs. Decentralized solutions, like physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), routinely protect large data streams from cyber threats.
Of course, there’s never a guarantee that a breach like the one reported by AT&T couldn’t happen if the data were stored on the blockchain, but the odds are much slimmer. Plus, blockchain is transparent, so it’s impossible to hide such breaches for two years. With all this technology we now have, such security breaches really are inexcusable.”
Above, photo by Shubham Dhage on unsplash
