The rapid growth of blockchain and crypto economics has led to the development of distributed database management system prototypes and commercial distributed database management systems. Now the computing environment has shifted from the centralized model to a more decentralized one. This shift has been motivated primarily by the increased decentralization of most business operations. In such systems, the database is stored in several computers which are interconnected by some communication media. As companies distribute data across various platforms, there appears the need to pay more attention to its security and protection of the stored data.

TiesDB is an independent entity and is designed for structured storage of large data sets in a public, decentralized, distributed network. TiesDB database offers a unique infrastructural solution for the burgeoning market of decentralized applications and blockchain-based businesses. With the new public, decentralized TiesDB platform one can store unlimited data, retrieve files and conduct searches. TiesDB developers realized the potential threats and have selected appropriate techniques to protect data on the new platform.

A distributed system varies from a centralized system in one key respect: The data and often the control of the data are spread out over two or more physically separate locations. Distributed database management systems (DDBMS) are central to many security threats additional to those present in a centralized database management system (CDBMS). The basic threats to the security of data in a distributed data base environment are not very different from those affecting centralized computer systems. They include crime, employee negligence, accidents, technical faults, viruses and worms, environmental factors, and natural disasters. However, certain characteristics of distributed data bases (e.g., increases in the points of entry to the system, in user autonomy, and in the number of users) create additional security concerns. The consequences of security violations can be classified into the following:

Loss or destruction of data;

Theft of data;

Corruption or modification of data;

Disclosure of data;

Delay or denial of use of data;

Misinterpretation of data.

So, what is the architecture of the security system in TiesDB platform? T How does TiesDB protection differ from other decentralized platforms? Firstly, Ties DB offers verified identification, all users have a unique ID verified by their private key. So, unlike MongoDB or other solutions, TiesDB users sign all transactions with their private key, and they cannot make changes to content or delete it without having a private key.

To enhance security of the system, permissions are stored in a blockchain and cannot be tampered with. Nodes and users are registered in the blockchain and node owners make security deposits to protect the network from malicious behavior. Settlements between users and nodes are done via blockchain.

Besides that, in TiesDB data is organized in a special way. Each record is replicated to a multitude of nodes, all records are publicly visible and the record can be modified by the owner.

Public, distributed and decentralized databases have one common threat: trust.

How does TiesDB solve the nodes trust problem? As soon as the server becomes a network node, it automatically receives a portion of content that was previously added by other users from other sites. Next, the site server users start adding new content or making changes to the old one. Each content modification from the user’s side is signed with a private key and paid for. Signing with a private key certifies the source of the changes (that is, that the data has been changed by the user, and not by someone on their behalf), and payment is the motivation for the owner of the node to maintain the server.

The user-added content is stored simultaneously on different nodes, ensuring the reliability of storage in the decentralized network. If something happens to the server of the node (should it break, be closed, or should a server owner start to display incorrect or aggressive behavior in relation to other network members), the user content will not be lost, and the network will continue to operate as if the node that had dropped out of work had not previously existed at all.

Algorithms for blocking malicious behaving nodes are as follows:

The node does not store user content. When a client (user program) accesses a node, content is taken from other nodes if the node does not have the content;

Since the content is signed with a user private key, the next time the content is accessed, the database will provide valid content from other nodes, and this node will be asked to change its content to a valid one. The same applies to valid, but old data. Nodes that issue old data will be asked to update them to newer data received from other nodes;

Each change in the database should be paid for;

Each block of content is signed with a private key and all modifications are paid for. Without a private key, you cannot make changes to the content of others or your own, neither can you delete it.

In designing a secure system, TiesDB saw necessary for additional security policy extensions to be enforced on its platform.

Distributed computing systems can provide benefits not available with centralized computing systems. However, it can be difficult to maintain the security and integrity of data on distributed systems. TiesDB is the first public database for decentralized structured data storage which not only allows advanced search and documents modification, but has selected the appropriate technique to protect and secure its database.

It is worth mentioning that TiesDB was formally known as TiesNetwork and, along with the name change, has also moved to a new web domain of www.tiesdb.com. This is part of the wider corporate strategy, as the company focuses all its activity on development and the imminent launch of the TiesDB database solution.

The TiesDB database product is a viable solution for storing terabytes of non-financial data while also being able to conduct quick searches on that data.

About TiesDB

TiesDB is an independent software provider and the maker of the first public, decentralized, distributed NoSQL database. TiesDB is Byzantine fault tolerant.

TiesDB, formerly known as Ties.Network, was founded by Alexander Neymark and Dmitry Kochin. Alexander Neymark has been launching and developing financial services for banks and telecommunications companies since 2000. In 2012, he began creating a platform for aggregating financial user data (account aggregation technology), which was implemented in the final development of Krawlly. Dmitry Kochin has extensive experience in IT. He holds a PHD in Technical Sciences and has been a serial entrepreneur in the IT sector since 2005. Dmitry has been involved in a variety of software projects related to payment processing, account aggregation, computer telephony and even financial services within online games. In October 2017, Ties.Network held a Token Generation Event, which raised over $9.5 million, and distributed over 59 million tokens.

For more information, please, visit www.tiesdb.com