IBM new blockchain patent meant to ward off replay attacks

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There are many high-profile corporations that are interested in blockchain and cryptocurrency, and one of those companies is IBM, an American multinational technology company that operates in over 170 countries and rakes in billions in revenue. IBM, along with Chinese tech giant Alibaba, are both two of the most active companies with regards to blockchain patents. This trend certainly doesn’t seem to be waning, as it has a new IBM blockchain-related patent has now been published.

The title of the patent is “Resisting replay attacks efficiently in a permissioned and privacy-preserving blockchain network.” As the name might suggest, IBM is clearly interested in improving the overall security of blockchain, and withstanding any potential attacks while still maintaining user privacy and user permissions.

For those that are unaware, a “replay attack” involves a repeated data transmission that is meant to be malicious, as the blockchain network will repeat the effects of the data without a request even being made. In order to prevent this from happening, it appears as though IBM wants to give each transaction a unique security certificate and unique security value that is only valid for one time. For those that might be unaware, the patent is meant to prevent attacks such as the Ethereum Classic (ETC) double spend attack that affected many in January 2019. The patent is also timely, considering that Canada is currently attempting to identify four suspects who conducted double-spend attacks at various Bitcoin ATMs.

While IBM has been active in terms of blockchain patents, it also has been active with respect to patents in general, with the company’s inventors being responsible for over 9,000 patents in 2018. The patents also focus on trending technologies besides blockchain, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Another IBM blockchain security patent was also published a week ago that focuses on security and database management.

IBM also offers the most blockchain-related jobs, as well, showing just how important blockchain seems to be to the company currently. Many believe that the United States and China are the two superpowers both competing for intellectual property in the blockchain space, with Alibaba and IBM leading the way. It was also recently announced that French court clerks would be utilizing a blockchain-based platform developed by IBM to increase transparency and efficiency with regards to court records.