by Angela Guess

According to a new press release, “Accenture has unveiled a patent-pending solution that simplifies the ability of blockchain technology to integrate with the industrial-grade security systems that support sectors including financial services, healthcare and government. The solution creates a developer-friendly interface between emerging blockchain platforms and widely used hardware security technology. Accenture cooperated with Thales – whose hardware is currently used by most major banks globally to secure records and assets from cybertheft – to develop the solution. Hardware security modules (HSMs) are crypto-processors that securely generate, protect and store digital keys. Keys stored in the Thales HSM architecture cannot be extracted or used except under a highly controlled protocol. The new solution is based on the widely used nShield HSM developed by Thales and creates a simple path to large-scale commercial use of blockchain technology.”

Simon Whitehouse, senior managing director and head of blockchain technologies at Accenture, noted, “Blockchain is quickly maturing across industries and is set to profoundly change how businesses operate… But current applications cannot meet the high security standards of most mission-critical IT infrastructure. That is because the digital keys used to secure and validate messages and transactions historically have proven vulnerable to network attacks. Our solution provides the same kind of physical security that banks have relied on for decades to keep money and transaction records safe from cyberthieves. It will clear a wider path not only for banks but for governments, insurers, healthcare providers and others to do real-world deployments of blockchain technology.”

Read more at Business Wire.

Photo credit: Accenture