Mohammad Sayadi- CEO, Djuno
Pharmaceutical companies manage various forms of highly sensitive data, such as personal information about consumers, patent information, and the results of new research and clinical trials. Unfortunately, this huge volume of data also makes the pharmaceutical industry a prime target for cybercriminals. In 2021, the pharmaceutical industry reported the third-highest average cost of a data breach, right behind health care and financial services.
This extreme vulnerability to data breaches can be attributed to the pharmaceutical industry’s traditional method of storing data in a centralized network. Another aspect of data security relevant to the pharmaceutical industry, which cannot be assured by centralized networks, is data immutability. For this reason, pharmaceutical companies should strongly consider shifting to decentralized networks, which offer a number of advantages as far as data security and immutability are concerned.
In addition to protecting the aforementioned data from cybercriminals, decentralized networks can help pharmaceutical companies make significant strides in operational efficiency and ultimately put life-saving drugs in the hands of those who need them as quickly as possible.
What is Decentralized Storage?
Decentralized storage is a type of network in which data is distributed across multiple nodes. Each individual file is split into small pieces (a.k.a. “blocks”), which are then encrypted with a specific hash algorithm or private key. Next, these blocks are distributed across an extensive system of nodes through a process known as “sharding.”
A decentralized network could theoretically consist of hundreds of different servers, each containing just a tiny fraction of the data. The term “decentralized” stems from the fact that no single entity has control over the network. Instead, it utilizes a peer-to-peer cloud storage system that is managed by ordinary users, or “miners”. The usage of blockchain technology assures that it is possible to check whether the data was tampered with or not.
Decentralized storage is the direct opposite of centralized storage, in which all the data is stored on a single cloud system in the hands of a third party (e.g., Amazon, Google, etc.). Similarly, a central server handles the majority of the network’s processing system and a third party possesses all of the data. If any nodes within the network wish to gain access to this data, they need to go through the central server.
Much more similar to decentralized storage are distributed networks, in which processing power is spread evenly across a system of nodes. The main difference between decentralized and distributed networks is that a decentralized network has no single entity that governs the behavior of the other nodes. In other words, every node makes its own decisions. With distributed networks, on the other hand, the behavior of the nodes is still governed by a central server.
Improved Security
Since decentralized storage does not rely on a single server, this system offers a major security advantage. Files are encrypted with private keys and distributed throughout various nodes, making it nearly impossible for cybercriminals to gain access to a complete file. Even if one node becomes hacked, the thousands of other nodes within the network would remain unaffected.
Spreading files across so many nodes prevents users from accessing complete files as well. In fact, the parties hosting each node are bound by smart contracts, which prevents them from viewing or tampering with sensitive or confidential information.
The lack of a central server is especially beneficial to pharmaceutical companies due to the volume of data they manage. Cybercriminals would no longer have a single, all-encompassing target to focus their attacks, and any successful breach would give them nanoscopic data at best. Put simply, trying to hack a node within a decentralized system is just not a sensible use of time and effort.
Furthermore, the presence of smart contracts prevents users from looking at someone’s personal information, a stark difference from the current norm, in which consumers’ personal information is openly available. Under a decentralized network, no single employee of a pharmaceutical company would have full access to someone’s personal information. As a result, consumers would have no reason to worry about their information falling into the wrong hands. The information belongs to the consumer and the consumer alone.
Further Advantages
The distribution and storage of files across multiple nodes offer many operational benefits. When pharmaceutical companies experience network bottlenecks, it’s often due to excessive demands on their servers’ resources. A single server can only handle so much traffic before the flow of data becomes impaired or stops completely. Since decentralized storage doesn’t depend on a single server, heavy traffic is significantly less likely to inhibit processes, such as downloading files or sharing data.
Also, even if a node goes down, the desired data can easily be retrieved from another node. Decentralized storage greatly minimizes the risk of file loss by storing several copies of each data fragment on different nodes. So, if a node or two are unavailable due to some sort of hardware or transmission failure, users can still access the full file at any time.
What’s more, blockchain technology stores data in a secure digital ledger, as opposed to a single server. This enables users and hosts to store and share frequently used data without having to connect to a server at all, which reduces network traffic even further while removing yet another tedious operational obstacle.
The Pharmaceutical Industry of the Future
For pharmaceutical companies, the strength and durability of their network directly affects their ability to produce and distribute medications quickly. This is particularly important during unforeseen moments of high network activity, such as when the need for a certain medication suddenly increases dramatically, e.g., during a global pandemic. In this situation, a decentralized network would allow a company to immediately engage in the digital processes associated with producing and distributing the medication without worrying about inadvertently inhibiting the network’s overall speed due to excessive traffic.
Also, as in many other industries, the amount of data that pharmaceutical companies manage is only expected to increase in the coming years. Clinical trials and drug research, for instance, will likely need to incorporate more data to solidify their findings, including data from fitness apps and wearable devices. This emphasizes the importance of establishing a strong network that’s capable of handling large volumes of data without slowing down.
Approaching the Decentralization Process
There’s no denying that moving storage to a decentralized network can present a number of challenges, especially for large pharmaceutical companies, although the recent emergence of Amazon S3- compatible solutions significantly facilitates this task. It’s only natural for corporate executives to be skeptical of changing such a crucial element of their company’s operations. After all, decentralization is a fairly new concept that can appear to be quite complicated for those who aren’t familiar with the underlying technology.
So, before jumping right into the implementation process, take some time to educate your team about how decentralization works and why it’s a sensible move for a large company that consistently deals with high volumes of data and high levels of network activity. People will be much more receptive to decentralization once they understand the full scope of its advantages, particularly regarding cybersecurity and data privacy.
In an age when data breaches are a major threat, pharmaceutical companies would be wise to pursue this opportunity to prevent becoming the latest victims.
Mohammad Sayadi is the CEO of Djuno, a company that develops AI technology to help businesses optimize their cloud IT infrastructure for better performance.
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