Sentinel Node upholds heightened security with 56M snapshots

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Cybersecurity monitoring firm CERTIHASH continues to leverage blockchain features to protect its clients’ data. This month, it revealed that its service has recorded over 56 million “state captures” in on-chain transactions—snapshots of its users’ networks and important and immutable logs of access to information that can be retrieved and audited at any time.

There are plenty of existing (non-blockchain) services that will also store those system logs for you. However, doing so involves transferring the log data to the provider’s servers or a third party they trust. Recording this log data on the blockchain means no trusted third party is required. Even though the blockchain network itself is open, any data stored there can be encrypted and retrievable only to its owners.

The result is actionable cyber-intelligence clients can use to combat threats as quickly as possible, with real-time detection and alerting. The on-chain logs are stored forever, allowing for forensic analysis and submission to relevant authorities for compliance purposes.

Near-instant breach detection

CERTIHASH Sentinel Node works on the principle that detecting data security breaches earlier is better. That’s common sense since it’s only possible to take steps to deal with a breach after it becomes known. The company notes that, globally, the average time it takes to detect an unauthorized intrusion is 194 days. Other reports have suggested that the average time is longer than that.

Think for a moment about how long 194 days is. It’s about six and a quarter of months. Can you remember what you were doing six months ago and everything that’s happened between then and now? Well, that’s how long a hacker may have been inside a system and exploiting the private data found there. The longer the detection time, the more potential damage. The more damage, the higher the costs to recover. Note again that 194 days is the average time before a breach is detected, meaning many go unnoticed for much longer.

Sentinel Node comes close to completely eliminating that painful 194-day wait. Other SIEM tools (that’s Security Information and Event Management) available on the market claim to operate in “real-time.” CERTIHASH noted, however, that “even the most mission-critical SIEM tools” may still take over two hours to capture a log, transfer and analyze it, and alert the necessary people.

Sentinel Node can be anywhere from 720 to 4,032 times faster than existing cybersecurity logging methods, it said.

CERTIHASH compares blockchain records to current practices using the analogy of serial vs. parallel circuits. In a serial circuit, a damaged light bulb affects all others along the circuit. Sentinel Node, on the other hand, works more like a parallel circuit: a “damaged bulb” (or the location of a security breach) can be identified and isolated from the network before it impacts other nodes.

Storing immutable data from critical logs isn’t possible on just any blockchain, either. The blockchain network must be fast, cheap and have high throughput capacity. The essential data must be stored on-chain, not on a sidechain or secondary network. Only the BSV blockchain has these features, with a stable transaction protocol secured by a global network of proof-of-work (PoW) transaction processors.

CERTIHASH Sentinel Node offers options for organizations of all sizes, depending on the number of monitored logs they require and the time between snapshots. It also offers other add-ons to enhance security even further, such as on-demand logs for higher-risk periods and priority support.

The service was first announced in early 2022, and the CERTIHASH team worked with IBM Consulting (NASDAQ: IBM) to build a robust software product with all the features cybersecurity teams need. Over 56 million snapshots is an impressive milestone, but with the threat of data breaches growing every week and ever-more critical information uploaded to the world’s online systems, it won’t be long before it’s hundreds of millions or even billions more.

Watch: Certihash Sentinel Node—Improving cybersecurity with blockchain