The healthcare industry is transforming with the integration of ground-breaking technologies capable of storing patient records electronically. The shift to the digitization of systems makes a variety of healthcare solutions possible that never could have been imagined — but it also puts healthcare data at risk to hackers and cyber attacks. In answer to this problem, blockchain technologies are emerging as a viable option for the storage and updating of electronic health records (EHRs).

In under five years time, Kubernetes has become the default method for deploying and managing cloud applications, a remarkably fast adoption rate for any enterprise technology. Amongst other things, Kubernetes’s power lies in its ability to map compute resources to the needs of services in the current infrastructure paradigm. But how does this tool work when faced with the new infrastructure layer that is blockchain? Can the two technologies be used in conjunction?

For just under 90 minutes last Thursday, hackers were able to compromise the systems of cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi, and gain unauthorised access to users’ names, email addresses, dates of birth, address and activity history.

About the time that Bitcoin was becoming a household name in the cryptocurrency business, an associated up-and-coming technology called blockchain was making waves and being hailed as the next big thing. Then it all but disappeared from the pages of the tech journals and websites. In other words, the big splash never materialized. Looking back, the problem was that it was so new and revolutionary that nobody knew what to do with it yet.

This is part 2 of a blog on healthcare security. For more info, check out part 1. An independent guest blogger wrote this blog. When it comes to data security, there is no more important place than the healthcare industry. When people go to the doctor, they provide all of their most sensitive information, from their health issues to their phone number, to a doctor they trust.

This past June, I attended the 2019 Bitcoin Conference in San Francisco, CA. With the various discussions on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and with the chance to hang out with my favorite Crypto personalities, it was easy to lose myself in all the festivities. While taking a break, I found a seat and decided to charge my iPhone. The station by where I was seated was a wooden cube with two standard wall sockets and two USB ports.

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has revealed that it is being blackmailed to the tune of 300 Bitcoin (approximately US $3.5 million) by someone who is threatening to release some 10,000 sensitive photographs of its customers. And in an attempt to identify its blackmailer, Binance has put a 25 Bitcoin (approximately US $290,000) bounty on their head.

Organizations of all sizes have made considerable shifts to using cloud-based infrastructure for their day-to-day business operations. However, cloud security hasn't always kept up with cloud adoption, and that leaves security gaps that hackers are more than happy to take advantage of.