Top 25 Cybersecurity Companies to Watch in 2016 Everyone is familiar with digital currencies in the form of Bitcoin. The foundational blockchain cryptology technology that enables that currency to be securely shared may wind up having the biggest impact on the economy. IBM this week announced plans for a blockchain-as-a-service offering that resides on the […]
Top 25 Cybersecurity Companies to Watch in 2016
Everyone is familiar with digital currencies in the form of Bitcoin. The foundational blockchain cryptology technology that enables that currency to be securely shared may wind up having the biggest impact on the economy.
IBM this week announced plans for a blockchain-as-a-service offering that resides on the IBM Bluemix cloud. At the same time, it is contributing 44,000 lines of code to the open source Hyperledger Project that was recently launched by the Linux Foundation.
In addition, IBM is making blockchain software available on its mainframes and is opening “garages” in London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore to provide developers with access to blockchain technology. IBM also revealed that it has developed a consensus algorithm tailored to specific blockchain use cases, while also moving to integrate identity management with the cryptography technology.
IBM is also working with customers to create “smart contracts” written in programming languages such as Java or Golang and executed in containers. Those contracts allow their authors to specify both who can view them and who can execute them.
Blockchain was created to provide a secure mechanism for anonymously transferring Bitcoins using a SHA-256 encryption. Now vendors are rushing to make use of blockchain technology to secure all kinds of financial transactions.
In fact, Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM systems, says the Hyperledger Project is far and away the fastest growing open source project that IBM has ever participated in.
It’s too early to say what impact blockchain cryptography will have on IT security. But given how secure Bitcoin transactions have been, chances are the level of IT security that is about to be embedded inside enterprise applications will substantially increase. The irony of that, of course, is that at that rate, the blockchain technology used to create Bitcoins will probably long outlive the digital currency itself.
Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a contributor to publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.
The go-to resource for IT professionals from all corners of the tech world looking for cutting edge technology solutions that solve their unique business challenges. We aim to help these professionals grow their knowledge base and authority in their field with the top news and trends in the technology space.
Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.
