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> Using blockchain technology also means you cannot abide by GDPR's right to forget. That means storing any personal information in a blockchain is a legal liab
by 2cb 5y ago
> Using blockchain technology also means you cannot abide by GDPR's right to forget. That means storing any personal information in a blockchain is a legal liability, at least in the EU, which limits its potential use cases even further.
Yes indeed, blockchains aren't suitable for storing personal data. No public decentralised network is. IPFS wouldn't be either for instance. By nature such networks assume no one peer can be trusted. Not the sort of thing you want to trust with confidential information.
This openness is often sold as a feature, for example running your supply chain through a blockchain means there is a publicly auditable ledger of every step, so a company claiming to have an ethical supply chain could theoretically point to that blockchain as proof. This is potentially interesting imo.
Most enterprise blockchain solutions I've seen are hybrid ones. A business can store personal data in a regular database and have non-sensitive data on a blockchain (as per the example above). The advantage of this (outside of the above use case) being that you can run SQL queries on large data sets much faster if that data is stored on a distributed ledger.
(Note: this is what the companies selling those solutions claim. I don't have first hand experience with blockchains in an enterprise context so I couldn't tell you if this is true - I imagine it'd depend on the database and blockchain in question.)
Final point though, these aren't necessarily proprietary blockchain solutions as such. They're more like SDKs businesses can use to build their own blockchains, code their own smart contracts, etc.
Whether this is actually useful for enterprise... I honestly couldn't tell you. I do think the supply chain stuff is interesting. I also think using it as a system to detect counterfeit items is another good use case for businesses. In the past, companies have created apps where you can scan a QR code and it confirms the legitimacy of the product, but counterfeiters just made QR codes that tricked the app. If each unit is tracked on a public blockchain, it should be possible to verify legitimacy with near 100% certainty.
- dmitriid 5y ago> so a company claiming to have an ethical supply chain could theoretically point to that blockchain as proof. No. A company can point at an entry that claims to be from an ethical supply chain. It's not proof that that entry actually represents reality. Same for every other entry in the supply chain. > you. I do think the supply chain stuff is interesting. It's not. For the reason above. > If each unit is tracked on a public blockchain, it should be possible to verify legitimacy with near 100% certainty. Because a publicly available hash on a publicly available blockchain is different from a QR code and cannot be spoofed... how?
- 3np 5y ago> Because a publicly available hash on a publicly available blockchain is different from a QR code and cannot be spoofed... how? It can not be spoofed due to having been signed by a verified key (a signature could of course be encoded in a QR code as well!) It can not be redacted, or retroactively inserted at a later point in time. The link/hash can of course also be encoded in a QR code.
- dmitriid 5y ago> It can not be spoofed due to having been signed by a verified key Let's say I have a Rolex watch. This "item" has an entry in a publicly available blockchain available to everyone. Who's to stop anyone from producing a "Rolex" watch pointing to the exact same entry on the blockchain? > The link/hash can of course also be encoded in a QR code. Indeed. So how exactly does blockchain protect against counterfeit goods?
- 3np 5y ago> Who's to stop anyone from producing a "Rolex" watch pointing to the exact same entry on the blockchain? No one. But only one is signed by Rolex's keys, and therefore considered legitimate. > Indeed. So how exactly does blockchain protect against counterfeit goods? It depends on who you are if it does or not. It can 1) prevent inconsistencies in different databases in different orgs, 2) prevent companies trying to hide their tracks or muddy the waters, 3) provide near-instantaneous settlement and coordination Let me ask you this; if you buy a Rolex watch on eBay that includes a QR code as proof of authenticity, how can you be confident that the same QR code has not been included with 100 other duplicate watches otherwise? (I had this happen with fake Bose headphones, BTW. A correct blockchain implementation would have allowed me to spot that within minutes of receiving the package as well as irrefutable proof to present to eBay/law enforcement, as opposed to months later when they failed and vague evidence)
- dmitriid 5y ago> But only one is signed by Rolex's keys How do you sign a physical watch with keys? > Let me ask you this; if you buy a Rolex watch on eBay that includes a QR code as proof of authenticity, how can you be confident that the same QR code has not been included with 100 other duplicate watches otherwise? I can't be confident. So, once again, how does blockchain help? > A correct blockchain implementation would have allowed me to spot that within minutes of receiving the package as well as irrefutable proof to present to eBay/law enforcement - What's a "correct blockchain" and who implements it? - How would it help if both watches/headphones/whatnot point to the same record in the ledger? - more in two comments to this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27435785 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27435785