“Yet One More Case for Privacy”

Privacy is a concept that is usually left out of regular blockchain mass adoption and scalability debates. It could be because, strictly speaking, cryptography technology itself already provides enough security and guarantees in many areas in our society including commercial, industrial, state and military sectors. Our financial and personal data remains relatively secure as we interact with banks and social media companies. On the other hand, Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal and other recent hacks (including Uber, Under Armour among others) have brought a long-neglected yet important discussion slowly back into the spotlight.

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret

The strongest and perhaps only argument against strong privacy is usually fear; fear of the unknown, fear of evil, complotting and complicity with nefarious activities from tax evasion to terrorism. For many, there is an argument to be made here. Monero just had its fifteen minutes of “shame” after kidnappers asked for payment in that particular cryptocurrency. And some still argue that Bitcoin path to relevancy and popularity was built upon Silk Road dark market “success”, back when the currency was still relatively unknown and pseudo-anonymous. It’s understandable that cryptography provide criminals with a wider selection of weapons. On the other hand, that line of thinking is easily dismissed as being nearsighted.

Traditionally and before the massification of technology, the variables and complexities of private matters were limited to the home. In a way, individual sovereignty was more tangible and defined. Easier times if you will. The expansion of the city life, the internet and social media platforms unleashed a set of challenges the world wasn’t really ready for. Privacy, freedom of thought and expression are sometimes forgotten human rights, as they tend to lean to the abstract side. However, it should be fairly easy to understand that there can be no freedom if an individual is forced to conduct all aspects of his/her life under the public eye, in the form of a corporation, a nation or a group of individuals. Delving deeper, the truth is, privacy and security go hand in hand.

Any sort of backdoor is something that can be exploited easily and sooner than later- with dire consequences including identity and medical records theft, credit card fraud, ransomware and sextortion just to name a few. The Australian government has been pushing an encryption busting law recently. China continues to extend its state control to uncharted territory aided by advances in AI and surveillance technology. Apple’s FBI iPhone’s controversy still remains a strong precedent and one of the most powerful and concise argument against attacks of this kind. Breaking or softening encryption will only lower security and therefore any level of perceived confidentiality.

A Dichotomy

Relative new concepts like open source software and public blockchains, while introducing a high level of security, in a way created a clash with both secrecy and privacy. We can even see this contrast play out among the narratives of many leaders in the industry. Sometimes they appeal to the transparency of Bitcoin’s blockchain (after all it’s a public ledger) to prove a point. At other times, they revert back to focusing on its anonymous nature and origins. This inherent dichotomy seems forced and dishonest.

As society we need to come to terms and define how and when to use this technology. It’s easy to imagine how charities and publicly managed budgets could benefit us all when adopting public blockchain technology, but but not so easy when considering other areas where it can be seen as a liability, exposing data to the competition. In an ideal, utopian, post-singularity world, business and even personal relationships could be conducted in complete transparency. Realistically, and for the time being, every actor from companies, institutions to individuals and nation states will need to protect their sensitive data from attackers, at least in some way or another.

Blockchain technology can indeed help improve our current systems. However a high level of personal responsibility, good digital hygiene habits and tech savviness is mandatory. Securing private keys, air-gapping, second factor authentication and countless other behaviors and mechanisms are measures that for most people (and companies) are still out of reach.

Incognito Mode Engage

A new wave of projects has started to appear in recent months. Already established endeavours like Zcash and Monero have achieved a great deal of respect and attention over the years and are considered among the undisputed leaders in this niche. Upcoming and innovative projects like Orchid Protocol and both MimbleWimble based Grin and Beam confirm a latent demand and resurgence amid the continuing efforts to de-anonymize and expose users in the name of AML/KYC regulations. It’s early to say but privacy-focused projects and subsequent integration with current dominant blockchains (much in the vein of zero-knowledge proof protocol) could become a trend to follow moving forward, a vastly overlooked beacon in a sea of security tokens and stablecoins talk. Let’s all hope it catches on.