Online payments giant PayPal is already shifting its attention towards blockchain technology. The firm has been awarded a crypto related patent.
Patent for Crypto-malware Detection Technique
The patent awarded to the payment giant is for a technique that could help with the detection of a type of crypto malware, as well as help manage and reduce the effect of the malware on the overall system.
The patent document was filed in September 2016 and awarded almost three years after by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The new patent details how an existing system data cache can be leveraged to help with the detection and prevention of Malware from locking up targets’ files.
The patent further states that: “Ransomware can encrypt the contents of a hard drive or other networked files and make it inaccessible for system users” so “a system user who lacks decryption keys will no longer be able to readily access his or her data.” it continued.
This is what PayPal is looking to prevent by all means. The payment giant plans to do this with a “method involving detecting the first copy of original content that has been loaded into a cache of a computer system, retaining in the cache a second copy of that file and comparing the two to determine if the altered content represents an encrypted version of the original content.”
As a result of these measures, the original content is prevented from being deleted if the altered content has been encrypted.
“By detecting that ransomware is operating on a computer (e.g. by correlating between the original data and content in different cache layers), the negative effects of the ransomware may be mitigated or avoided.” the patent explained.
PayPal Ready for a Blockchain Shift?
This is not PayPal’s first attempt at getting a crypto related patent. Last year, the firm filed a patent application for a way to boost the speed of cryptocurrency payments.
Recently, PayPal made its first crypto related investment into a startup. Combining this with the new patent, it seems like payment giant is gearing up for a move into the blockchain space.
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