IBM Awarded Patent for Secure System Based on Blockchain

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awards IBM a patent for a blockchain-based security system that effectively helps to reveal breaches.

Tech conglomerate IBM has recently been awarded a patent for a blockchain-based secure system. The patent filing was published on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website Tuesday, October 2.

As IMB explains in a document first filed in September 2017, the technology enables the detection of security breaches within a network by connecting all the monitors to a chain configuration, which registers all events in the network. This, in turn, might help to prevent different sorts of hacks.

According to a detailed explanation provided by IBM, a monitor can be easily intruded upon in a regular system as "none of the devices know about each other," and hackers can “clean up” past events to gain control.

However, within a blockchain security system, a hacked monitor can be found immediately, as in such a case synchronised monitors won't have consensus. "If the information received for a specific event or transaction differs, then one monitor may have been compromised," the filing explains.

The use of blockchain technology in monitor systems will therefore help create “a less vulnerable” network and provide more security, IMB states.

IBM shares first place globally with Chinese e-commerce corporation Alibaba in terms of blockchain-related patents filed. As a per recent report by intellectual property outlet iPR Daily, Alibaba has registered 90 patents, while IBM follows behind with as many as 89 patents. 

For instance, in mid-September, IBM filed another blockchain patent in the security area. As Cointelegraph wrote, the patent application was related to privacy rules for drones in case of high risks.

Later in September, IBM was awarded a patent for the autonomous self-servicing of networked devices that form part of its Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT) environment.