One of my favorite genres of film to watch are crime films, especially the mafias or drug cartels. This is one of the reasons I loved the series POWER so much. What fascinates me the most about the mafia or drug cartel is the business model that underlines their operations, especially when it comes to the strength of their network and the security of their systems. They are almost always impenetrable.

Maybe we can say the same for Blockchain. Perhaps it is a mafia of its own. The strength of its network nodes and security of the ecosystem is almost impenetrable.

Network & Security are essential Blockchain building blocks business leaders must understand and strengthen if they are going to implement Blockchain in their organization. Through cryptographic hash functions, network nodes & consensus algorithms, in addition to Blockchain’s decentralized immutable system, a stronger network and more secure environment is created and established.

One of the ways security is enhanced in Blockchain is through cryptographic hash functions. Let’s define these terms. “Cryptography is the process of hiding or coding information so that only the person a message was intended for can read it.” - Joseph M Mtakai. “Hash functions take inputs of variable lengths to return outputs of a fixed length. “ - Investopedia

Put together, a cryptographic hash function combines the message passing capabilities of hash functions with encryption and security properties of cryptography. It is a method in which user privacy is protected while ensuring data integrity, consistency, and authentication. It plays a significant role in maintaining the security of the public network by securing the block and the connected blocks in the chain.

Through the use of asymmetric encryption with public & private keys pairing and wallet addresses, an extra layer of security with anonymity is added to the system with blockchain. It uses asymmetric encryption, also known as public key encryption, to ensure an extra layer of security. It uses a public to private key pairing, that is data encrypted with the public key that can only be decrypted with the private key, to facilitate transactions. Unlike regular systems with obvious usernames and passwords, the private and public keys in blockchain serve as anonymous usernames and passwords, allowing you to perform transactions in a more secure manner.

In Blockchain, strong networks are fostered by Blockchain network nodes and its consensus algorithms, PoW and PoS. Blockchain network nodes are stakeholders in the Blockchain network that are authorized to legitimize and validate a batch of transactions, a.k.a. blocks, on the network. There are 3 main types of nodes in Blockchain - full, light, miner nodes. Full nodes maintain a complete copy of the Blockchain network. Light nodes maintain a limited copy or lightweight information of the Blockchain network. Miner nodes are responsible for verifying transactions and adding new blocks to the Blockchain. The consensus algorithms in Blockchain such as Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) allows and ensures all nodes in the network to agree on the validity of a transaction before it is posted to the network. This helps prevent Sybil Attacks, the ability for a single attacker to control the majority of the network nodes.

These two key elements, Network & Security, ensure a more secure and a stronger network in the Blockchain ecosystem. In a landscape where cyber attacks, hackers, and fraud is prevalent, African business leaders can take advantage of the network effect and enhanced secure system Blockchain provides to support its Anti Money Laundering (AML), Fraud Detection and prevention, KYC verification business efforts.

Fraxeum, a South African-based blockchain called is using Blockchain to drive financial inclusion. According to Digital Bankers Africa, “the Fraxeum blockchain provides banks, financial service providers and other corporates or startups with the perfect platform to reach this untapped market. On top of the blockchain, Fraxuem has developed a range of fintech solutions that facilitate simple customer KYC, AML, and onboarding, direct fiat deposits and withdrawals, a secondary OTC desk for resale of micro-shares, and much more.” This shows us that there are vast opportunities available in the provision of solutions using Blockchain.

Although a stronger and a more secure network is fostered with Blockchain and has many advantages for organizations, especially in securing financial transactions and borderless payment, fraud detection, AML, and KYC verification, technical expertise and understanding of Blockchain is required to properly implement it. I recommend that leaders start to educate themselves, train and upskill their current employees and hire experts within the field in order to better position themselves and their organization to reap the benefits of implementing blockchain and to be ready to do business in the Web3.0 world.