Decentralized Cloud Storage: the Future of Data Management is Blockchain

One of the most popular ways to store data these days is through cloud storage. Everyone from iPhone users to businesses keeps large amounts of valuable data on various cloud storage platforms and most of these tend to be centralized. 

The Problem With Centralized Cloud Storage

On the surface, the use of cloud storage for these purposes would be the perfect solution to the issue of data management. Cloud storage means that those who need data storage do not need to spend money on physically storing their information via paper files and do not need to buy large and sophisticated computers to meet their needs. Instead, they merely need to pay a periodic fee to a cloud storage service that will ensure that their data is safe, secure, and organized. 

However, this system has proven to not be perfect and this is due to the fact that it is centralized. Centralization has always suffered from a peculiar flaw which is that a centralized body will become the target of attack and should it succumb, all those that rely on it will be affected. 

Take the iCloud hack of 2014 during which sensitive information, as well as explicit images of various public figures, were released without consent. In 2017, it was reported that Apple’s iCloud services had been hacked yet again, with the perpetrators demanding a ransom to be paid in cryptocurrency. Apple announced that they had not been hacked and that data that had been leaked was due to third-party services being compromised. 

These two incidents show the level of damage that can be done to a centralized storage system, even if it is a tech giant like Apple. This should be a source of concern for anyone who makes use of cloud service as a single hack could be catastrophic. 

It has been suggested, however, that decentralized cloud storage could be the solution. 

Could Decentralized Cloud Storage be the Solution?

In the last decade, the world has been exploring what it means to function with decentralized systems. Cryptocurrency shows what a financial landscape would look like without traditional banks and even the exchanges that trade in cryptocurrency are leaning towards a more decentralized route. It is now possible that this can be applied to data cloud storage as well. 

Decentralized cloud storage involves dating being stored on a network hosted by multiple people as opposed to a single entity. This decentralization of network power means that it is very difficult for such a network to be compromised as there is no single body for a hacker to go after. 

Besides the security that such services offer to users, there is also the issue of accessibility. Decentralized cloud storage has been found to be significantly cheaper compared to traditional cloud services like Apple and Amazon. This affordability is a perk that can be seen throughout the use of decentralized systems. Take blockchain, for example, which has been used to transfer large amounts of money for relatively small transaction fees, especially compared to traditional financial systems.

Then there is the matter of privacy. Decentralized cloud storage encrypts the files that are stored with them and no single network participant has all the data of a particular user, only a part of it. This means that no single person other than yourself has complete access to your data and they cannot understand it even if they wanted to. 

It is clear that there are flaws with the current cloud storage system and the decentralized ones are the way to go. As time goes on, it can be expected that decentralized cloud storage systems will improve even more and change the way we store and handle our data.