Blockchain: A public record of digital events stored chronologically in linked blocks, securing timestamps for documents.
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Blockchain's strength lies in its tamper-proof nature. Each block contains a unique fingerprint (hash) that also references the hash of the block before it. This creates a chain where altering any single block would expose the change, as all subsequent blocks would become invalid.
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Blockchains leverage three key security features:
- Cryptographic hashing: Each block holds a unique fingerprint linked to the previous block's hash. Tampering with a block exposes the change, as all following blocks would become invalid.
- Proof of work (PoW): This mechanism slows down adding new blocks (e.g., 10 minutes in Bitcoin) making it computationally expensive to tamper with the blockchain history.
- Distributed ledger: Everyone on the network verifies each block, achieving consensus (typically 50%+) for validation. This decentralized approach makes altering the blockchain highly improbable.
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