Posted on May 18, 2019 at 8:05 PM
DDoS Attacks: Amazon Incorporates Proof-of-Work System to Fight
The E-commerce giant is making preparations against any DDoS attack that may attack its networks. The company recently acquired a PoW patent as a tool to prevent such attacks.
Amazon is not prepared to expose its network to distributed denial of service attacks. One of the best decisions we think they’ve made is to get the patent for PoW system. The company filed for the patent in December 2016. Well, the United States Patent & Trademark Office granted it to the company this week. According to the reports we got, the patent outlines how the company can generate Merkle trees to prevent DDoS attacks. It also outlined how Merkle trees can solve proof-of-work challenges.
Amazon Plans with Merkle Trees
The E-commerce giants are planning to present a PoW challenge to network attackers using the Merkle trees. With such a counter-move, attackers will not have it easy. They will need to spend more on machines that will help them to carry out such attacks. The reason being that Merkle trees will allow Amazon to verify data that passes from one computer to another.
This DDoS protection moves by Amazon is very commendable because the attacks on networks have been alarming. It is even terrible to imagine what it would look like if the e-commerce company falls under such exposure.
The Proof-of-Work System Will Protect Amazon’s Network
It is safe to say that the PoW system will keep attackers away from Amazon networks. We learned that the number one cryptocurrency Bitcoin is using a system similar to PoW to protect its network. Merkle trees have been ensuring that the blocks which miners present are true and not tampered in any way. The PoW sees the miners solve many difficult mathematical puzzles in a bid to keep the network safe. Once they get these puzzles correctly, they get a reward in BTC.
The company believes that the PoW algorithm will help them to prevent possible DDoS attacks. Since the system will see attackers generate a PoW solution, it will require using computational resources. If the attackers can’t get access to such resources, maybe due to the cost implications, it will dissuade them from further actions. This development implies that it will become impossible to hack networks such as Amazon. With the new PoW system, attackers will spend too much if they make any attempt.
Amazon Adopts the Blockchain Tech
Somewhere in the same patent, the e-commerce company implied other crypto-related terms such as “digital signage” & “public signing key,” However, they didn’t make any reference to cryptocurrencies or blockchains directly.
Whether they say it or not, we have seen that Amazon is interested in the blockchain tech than in cryptos. It is true that customers who use the platform would give anything to use cryptocurrencies on the platform. Unfortunately, Amazon hasn’t opened such doors yet. We learned from a 2019 survey that 13 percent of Amazon customers would prefer to buy cryptos from the platform.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Binance has implied that Amazon may one day issue a cryptocurrency. But, the e-commerce giant is only using the blockchain tech for now.
