Blockchain technology may help secure the nuclear weapons of the future

By Jon Martindale October 12, 2016

blockchain darpa nuclear — 123RF

It turns out Kim Dotcom isn’t the only one looking to leverage the distributed database system known as Blockchain for something other than its original purpose. While he might be using it to create a new micro-transaction infused file- sharing system though, other groups like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), are considering it as a way to secure nuclear weapons in the future.

Since Blockchain technology is essentially a decentralized, near-irrefutable database that keeps track of all the activity within it, it could make for a safeguard of military assets. Instead of only using digital security measures which could be breached, building it on the foundation of the Blockchain could become a system for reporting any tampering attempts.

Essentially, it could make for a perfect monitoring system without the need for immediate oversight.

As Quartz reports, DARPA is seriously looking into what applications this sort of technology could have in military hardware. It is already awarded a near-$2 million contract to security firm, Galois, to investigate its potential, using a Blockchain technology acquired from another firm, Guardtime.

Although there have been other uses for Blockchain tech since its inception in the late 2000s to power Bitcoin, for the most part Blockchains are used within financial organizations. Dotcom’s plan to utilize it for micro-transactions, along with file-sharing, is a unique implementation that shows how varied it is, though that project still has yet to receive full funding to get it off the ground.

It is possible that if DARPA’s initiative does prove fruitful and it gets the go-ahead to apply Blockchain technology to the military’s infrastructure, we will see a much bigger uptake of the technology moving forward.

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