Steve Delahunty , Forbes Councils
- Technology of blockchain has many applications to secure transactions and activities outside of the financial sector, including in healthcare and other industries.
- U.S. federal government has interest in the application of blockchain for various purposes
With the rise of Bitcoin, one of the underlying supportive technologies that makes it possible has gained more awareness — blockchain. The technology of blockchain has many applications to secure transactions and activities outside of the financial sector, including in healthcare and other industries. The U.S. federal government has interest in the application of blockchain for various purposes.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a distributed “chain” of validated transactions secured through cryptographic hashing. Each block added is stored with timestamp and transaction data along with a cryptographic hash pointer to the previous block. Various open-source and commercial options for blockchain technology exist. The best-known example of the use of blockchain is for securing and recording of Bitcoin transactions. For another example, an organization can use blockchain to analyze whether a mobile device is valid for use inside its corporate systems using various internal identifiers for the device. Another way to think of blockchain is as a trusted ledger of transactions.
Adoption Of Blockchain By The U.S. Federal Government
While the U.S. government was late to embrace cloud computing due to challenges with deciphering the model, lack of suitable procurement options and slow adoption, it appears to be engaging actively with the potential use of blockchain technology. The appeal of blockchain may center on the decentralized nature of the technology along with interoperability and reduced cost outcomes.
In one of the first contract awards for blockchain technology implementation for the U.S. government, the Department of Homeland Security awarded a blockchain contract to “Prove Integrity of Captured Data From Border Devices.â€
The Food & Drug Administration issued a “sources sought” notice late in 2017 for an application of blockchain. According to the notice, this was for real-time application for portable interactive devices (RAPID) “to enable [the] exchange of patient-level data within the United States Critical Illness and Injury Trails Group network.” The FDA requirements noted that “Implementation of the blockchain connection between FDA RAPID and USCIITG/Discovery network is being created in order to exchange influenza patient data at clinical sites administered by USCIITG.â€
The U.S. Department of Defense Transportation Command also showed a recent interest in blockchain centered on an innovative use of distributed ledger capabilities. Its interest also included extensibility, monitoring and scalability of the technology across extended domains. An example potential application included security and surety of logistics and transportation transactions.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/01/25/developments-and-adoption-of-blockchain-in-the-u-s-federal-government/#753d93de3d99
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