Ideally, we wouldn’t store sensitive data in the cloud. Despite the claims around solid security, the cloud will never be as safe as storing something on your encrypted hardware device. However, the reality is that we now live in a multi-device world, and we can’t and don’t bring the same machine with us everywhere we go. Using the cloud, it’s possible to access your sensitive data conveniently from any location or device. 

As such, many people store sensitive information, including their passwords and health records, online, where it can easily be exposed. 

One of the dangers of cloud storage is that your account could easily be hacked. With cloud storage, data is stored on centralized servers belonging to companies such as Microsoft, Google, Box, or Dropbox. As such, it’s vulnerable to all kinds of risks, including data breaches and unauthorized access by hackers or rogue employees. 

Blockchain Storage For Everything

Luckily, recent crypto innovations mean there is now a superior, blockchain-based cloud storage solution. With the recent launch of Serenity Shield’s StrongBox dApp on the main net, consumers and businesses alike have a more robust storage solution that can be used to protect almost any kind of digital asset. The service can safely store PDF files, Word documents, audio, video, and image files, as well as digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs. With so many applications, it promises to be a game-changer for numerous industries where secure data storage is a paramount concern, including the healthcare, financial services, and legal sectors. 

With StrongBox, users can access a decentralized storage solution that guards against tampering and enables user-controlled access, as well as an inheritance feature that allows stored assets to be safely transferred to an heir without risk. It represents the shift to a safer, cloud 3.0 model that sees data encrypted and distributed across multiple servers so it’s never held in a single, vulnerable location.  

Innovation In Data Access

To access StrongBox, users must link a wallet and follow the steps to create an account. Once done, they can add sensitive data such as their crypto seed phrases, private keys, passwords, health information, or anything else that needs the highest level of protection. 

The solution employs high-grade HKDF-SHA256 encryption, with data stored and encrypted using intelligent contracts on the Secret Network, a specially designed Layer-1 blockchain. For the uninitiated, blockchain is a distributed ledger stored on many independent nodes scattered around the globe. The intelligent contract governs access to the data held within the StrongBox. It handles specific release conditions that the owner can set up, including the rules for activation by their designated heir. 

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Serenity Shield’s StrongBox is its use of NFTs. The private viewing key required to access the data within StrongBox is fragmented and split into three NFTs, which serve as access keys. To open the StrongBox, the user must use two of the three keys. One of the NFTs will go to the owner, while the second can either go to their nominee or be disregarded if the user doesn’t wish to designate any. The final NFT is held within the StrongBox’s smart contracts, which Hacken has fully audited. 

If an heir is nominated, they’ll receive the second NFT, and the account owner can then create the activation conditions for that NFT based on a lack of activity or their failure to send a regular active “ping” to the smart contract. Should these conditions be met, the heir can access the second NFT to open the StrongBox.  

Versatile, Accessible & Safe Storage Anywhere

With StrongBox, regular users get up to 1 petabyte of storage space, making it ideal for consumers and businesses. It provides a viable and safer alternative to cloud 2.0 storage, eliminating the need for firewalls, cybersecurity, backups, and, most importantly, trust.  

Although built on Secret Network, StrongBox is a multichain solution compatible with many leading blockchain networks. Together with its hardware independence, StrongBox is as versatile and accessible as any traditional cloud storage service.