Data sovereignty in blockchain era: Insights from former Oracle exec Zaldastani

In an era where digital information increasingly shapes our daily lives, data ownership, privacy and security questions have taken on new urgency. This episode of Hashing It Out, hosted by Elisha Owusu Akyaw, explored these pressing issues with Nicholas Zaldastani, chairman and co-founder of CESS, a decentralized data storage network. The conversation explored the changing landscape of data sovereignty, the importance of decentralized storage, and how blockchain may transform data security.

The value of data

“Data has always been valuable,” Zaldastani said, reflecting on his years at Oracle in the late 1980s, where he first recognized the strategic significance of data management. Since then, he said, the value of data has grown exponentially. Today, the global economy relies heavily on data as a fundamental asset, influencing everything from targeted advertising to the advancement of artificial intelligence. As the world becomes more data-driven, the importance of ensuring data privacy and security has never been greater.

Zaldastani outlined how CESS, short for “Community Enhanced Storage Solutions,” is taking steps to secure data in a decentralized ecosystem. Founded in 2019, the platform aims to give data owners control over their information by addressing issues inherent in centralized data storage models, which often require users to relinquish ownership in exchange for convenience.

Data sovereignty

At the core of the discussion was the concept of data sovereignty — the idea that individuals should have control over their own data, including where and how it is stored. Zaldastani said that traditional centralized storage systems often make it challenging to secure data from unauthorized access or misuse. At the same time, decentralized networks offer a potential solution by distributing data across multiple nodes rather than storing it in a single location.

Related: Hashing It Out: Breaking the oligopoly with decentralized infrastructure

Blockchain platforms like CESS are finding unique approaches by breaking data into encrypted segments and replicating each segment across multiple nodes. “If someone were to access one node, they would only get a fraction of the data,” Zaldastani said. “They would need to find and decrypt all other fragments, a nearly impossible task.” He emphasized that this approach provides higher security, protecting data from hackers and other potential breaches.

The podcast also explores what decentralized data storage means for other sectors like non-fungible tokens and artificial intelligence.

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