Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S1W3 – Blockchain through the concepts by @dibie||club75
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Hello guyz,welcome to my blog.
Today I will be discussing a particular concept of blockchain that is inarguably the most popular and most important in blockchain technology.
We will be looking at Private And Public Cryptographic Keys On Blockchain.
Yes,I know many of us are very much familiar with this particular concept of blockchain and this is no surprise because it importance cannot be overemphasized.
So stay with me as I take you on a journey to explore what the cryptography keys are,how they works and their usefulness in blockchain technology.
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Before delving into the Crux of explaining and doing justice to what the cryptography keys are,it is only pragmatic that I first establish what cryptography is.
Cryptography is a secure means/method of secret communication or passing across secret Information or data using a very secure technique or method in such a way that only the sender and recipient can understand and decode it.
It is a way of protecting data and information by encrypting and consequently securing it from malicious player or the 3rd party from recognizing it or understanding the content of the information.
Having understand what the term cryptography means,we can now proceed to talk about the Cryptography Keys.
Keys in simple term is anything that is capable of opening and closing a lock and when it comes to blockchain,a Cryptographic key is also needed to lock and open data and asset that are locked on the blockchain.
The very first time a new user initiate a cryptocurrency transaction on a blockchain,a unique pair of keys which consist of a long chain or string of alphanumeric characters is created to help the user secure asset on the blockchain and digital ecosystem.
Today we shall be discussing two of such keys because no doubt these two keys are the most popular and most used on the blockchain and they are:
•Public key
•Private key.
Let me butress more on the types of keys,their functions on the blockchain and how they operate.
•PUBLIC KEY
The public key is a long string of alphanumeric characters that is used to encrypt data.
It is often provided by a trusted and reliable source or authority or sometimes generated by a software program and made available to a users through a kind of public directory.
This authorities create this public key using asymmetric agorithm which connects the public key to the private key.
The public key just like the name implies is a kind of key that can be made public.
The public can be likened to a users wallet address,this is where a users receive cryptocurrencies into their account.
This implies that without the public key,a user cannot receive any cryptocurrency into their account.
•PRIVATE KEY.
Yes,unlike the public key,the private key should be kept hidden and in secret,only known to the user and not the public.
The private key is a long string of alphanumeric characters that serve as a password or user ID in order to access the asset or data on the blockchain.
Without the private keys,funds in an account cannot be tampered with and once the private key is misplaced,all the fund is gone for forever.
The public key can only be use to receive and deposit fund into an account but the private key serves the purpose of providing access to the fund deposited.
The private key is more like the stamp of ownership or a user's signature for signing transaction, without it,no funds is going to move out.
Consequently,this cements the fact that whoever holds the private key,owns the fund.
It might also Interest you to know that the public keys is created from the private key through a kind of mathematical algorithm but for some good reasons,the private key can never be generated from the public key.
So to be on a safer side, You should ensure to keep your private key safe and secure from 3rd party or the public in general in order not to loss your fund or sensitive data and information
sourceThese keys are important in blockchain because it makes blockchain technology more secure and reliable, without the keys,it is literally impossible to pass across information,data or asset from user to the other or even decrypting and encrypting of data.
No fear of losing funds and asset to bad actor all thanks to the use of key which serves the bedrock of blockchain security.
The use of keys in blockchain to encrypt and decrypt data and asset ensures confidentiality, integrity, authenticity on the blockchain.
On the blockchain,data or asset in a user's account can only be access by a unique key (private key) which is only known to the original owner making it really difficult for bad actor to play a role.
And on the other hand,asset can also be sent to a user using the public key which serve as the wallet adress of the user.
Here are some of the reason why the cryptographic keys is of high important on the blockchain.
•Confidentiality
It ensure confidentiality in the sense that it shield and protect stored information and data on the blockchain from being altered or tampered with by unauthorize users.
The importance of the keys in blockchain technology cannot be overemphasized.Anything that is encrypted using the public key can only be decrypted using the private key.
•Authenticity
Anything sent from user A to user B must first be signed by user A using the private key and the only way user B can decrypt user A private key is to make use of the User A public key which can be easily be accessed by user B.
By this,user A ensures the authenticity of the data or information sent to user B and show that it really came from him/her by signing the data with his/her private key.
•Integrity
it also breeds integrity in the sense that decryption process involves the user's to scrutinize and cross-check if the received message, information,data or asset matches what was sent,to ensure that the delivery wasn't tampered with or changed in between.
sourceNo,I don't think the blockchain technology existence will be possible without the private and public cryptographic keys.
Blockchain technology is said to be one of the most secure system of recording transactions and data in such a way that information stored on the digital ledger cannot be altered or tempered with,but what made this possible if not for the use of keys on the blockchain.
There are different other keys used on the blockchain which perform different function but similar objective which is securing data and information on the chain.
Just imagine a social network or server without any security measures such as username and password. An account or platform where delicate information is stored without the requirement of password or secret pin to access it.
Such platform is not safe as anyone can just press a button and gain access to sensitive information and decide to do whatever they please with it.
Judging from a factual and reasonable standpoint,I don't see the existence of blockchain in anyway near possible without the use of keys for decrypting and encrypting of data.
No data storage facility,network or technology can stand or exist without the foundation and most basic form of security measure which is the Keys(pins, password, user login) and the blockchain technology is no exception.
Nevertheless,There are other types of keys that are similar to the private and public keys,one of which is the Master key.
Master key: this key can be utilized to encrypt all other cryptographic keys in the system,that is why it is referred to as the master key.
It is often provided to the user through a trusted and reliable authority alongside other keys,with the major purpose of performing multiple task.
It is use as substitute for all other keys that are one way or the other connected to each other within the master key system.
Of course it is possible to improve this term,taking into consideration the fact that once the keys are misplaced,it cannot be recovered.
This is not so good.
The authorities In charge of doling out this keys to users should devise a way in which keys that are misplaced can easily be accessed again.
Many people can no more access their fund or data stored on the blockchain all because they misplaced the keys.
The authorities in charge should create a kind of data base where keys of individuals are stored to assist individual who misplaced their keys to recover them.
The use of private and public cryptographic keys cannot be overemphasized,these keys serve the major function of encrypting and decrypting of data sent to a user and inturn ensuring confidentiality, integrity and authenticity.
Without the use of keys in blockchain technology,bad actors can easily gain access to sensitive information consequently altering and modifying it.
The keys are the basic of blockchain security and without the keys,it is practically impossible to carry out transaction or activities on the blockchain effectively
Thanks for reading.
Please interact with my post by voting and commenting 👍
I will also like to invite @ronindboss @olabillions and @ranarahman to be a part of this wonderful contest.
You've done well in explaining cryptography. The most important part of this post is the part where you mentioned private key. This key is what I refer to as the access to my vault. If it leaks out by any means,you can be sure your asset is gone.
Yeah,that is why we ought to protect and keep the private key safe from leaking out.
Thanks for dropping by @lhorgic,I really do appreciate it.
You're welcome
The concept of blockchain that you have chosen to explain is awesome. You have done justice to cryptographic key, the aid in securing data on the blockchain.
Just by reading through your post, i have also learnt new things about cryptography.
Such a content you’ve delivered
Thanks man for dropping by,I'm glad you lernt something from what I shared😊
I think a post about the key and its function will be needed so that we don't use it wrong. Good Work
Hi @novaamalia
I talked about the function of the keys in the post, I summarized the whole function while discussing about both keys.
Here is the function of the public key from the post
And here is one of the functions of the private key from the post.
I hope you understand how these two keys work now.
Thank you for interacting with my post,I really do appreciate.
Woawwww..this is so detailed, explanatory and full of lot to learn and gain knowledge from..thank you so much for such a job well done
Thanks for dropping by, I'm glad you learnt something from my little writeup.🤗
Thank you for publishing an article in the Crypto Academy community today. We have accessed your article and we present the result of the assessment below
Comments/Recommendation
Thank you for participating in this contest.
Total|8.5/10
You are not qualified to use #club75 tag.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention,I guess my club status just drop down a bit from 75 to 71 this morning,I was club75 when I posted it yesterday.
All the same,Thanks for reviewing my work prof. @reminiscence01🙏I really do appreciate you
Hi @dibie,
I really enjoyed reading your entry.Security is a central point in blockchain technology and this security is achieved through cryptography which involves encryption of the message such that only the target recipient will have the access to its decryption.Private keys and public keys are very important elements in the defense mechanism of cryptography.
Overall,you have made a quality entry.I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you boss for interacting with my post😊 indeed private and public keys are very important elements in the defense mechanism of cryptography 👍
You are welcome @dibie I look forward to reading more posts from you.
Congratulations on a well written and informative post. I enjoyed reading it as it was easy to read and to easy understand by someone like me who is a newbie to the world of crypto.
Best wishes for the contest!
Wow,this is really nice to hear..Thank you so much for interacting with my post😊
It was a pleasure! 😊