Decentralized Data Governance: Opportunities and Threats of BlockChain for Privacy and Security

The unprecedented growth of Internet of Things (IoT) has introduced complex challenges in data governance such as privacy, security and scalability. While traditional centralized governance models present vulnerabilities such as single points of failure, limited transparency and poor scalability, decentralised blockchain technology seeks to address these challenges. This paper examines the opportunities and threats of blockchain-enabled decentralized governance of data with specific focus on privacy and security. By analysing blockchain’s features such as immutability, distributed consensus, and cryptographic verification, the research determined that significant opportunities including data security, secure digital identity systems, data sharing and auditable transparency. The findings also indicated that mining attacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, network threats are the key threats to blockchain-enabled governance of data. Case studies and technological reviews expose limitations in real-time processing and interoperability. Future researchers and industry professionals should focus on security, scalability, regulatory compliance, governance and sustainability.