With more and more public sector agencies starting to build, test and pilot blockchain systems for many reasons, including secure data sharing, supply chain, managing payments and more, they are beginning to see some tangible benefits this innovative technology can offer within the public sector.
Let’s take a look at two of the many advantages of using blockchain systems and where it is most likely to bring positive results.
The trust of citizens
A key feature of blockchain-based solutions is transparency through decentralization, allowing participating parties to see and verify data.
For example, recently the UK government has been trialing the use of blockchain technology for its land registry database as part of a wider digital transformation initiative. This way of storing data will benefit consumers by simplifying and speeding up the process of buying and selling property
Sweden, Estonia, and Georgia are also experimenting with blockchain system based land registries according to recent information from Deloitte researchers.
This way of enabling many groups of different people involved in real estate or land to securely hold copies of the registry has many advantages. It could quickly help to resolve property or land disputes, and possibly it may help to prevent them from occurring at all.
By sharing documents in a way that is solidly secure, helps to build trust from citizens and where records are stored in such a secure way, the opportunity for distrust drops, enabling multiple parties to securely hold copies of the registry.
This model could help quickly resolve property disputes or prevent them altogether. When citizens and governments share access to records, the potential for distrust decreases.
Sensitive Data Protection
Personal data breaches are becoming more and more widespread in today’s growing digital space. Forbes magazine recently reported that Equifax suffered a huge data breach where 143 million Americans had such details as their full names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers exposed in 2017.
Only 2 years previous to this, more than 20 million records of recent and past government employers had their details stolen from databases that had been maintained by the Office of Personnel Management.
With governments bring the chief record keeper for most of the ways citizens conduct their daily lives, governments are prime targets for hackers. Using the blockchain system, this kind of security breach can be avoided, rather than simply being seen as the cost that must be endured when doing business in a modern digital world.
Blockchain data structures can increase network security and by doing this, will reduce breaches of security and also a single point of failure risk, resulting in making any attempt at breaching data, more challenging and therefore, less likely.
Government agencies, like the Department of Homeland Security, are also looking into using blockchain technology and applications to service cybersecurity.
This, agency is also funding blockchain startups to conduct research and development and explore new ways to improve security. According to an article on their website, the way the department views the innovations that blockchain can bring:
‘From a government perspective, the technology holds the potential for enhanced transparency and auditing of public service operations, increased supply-chain visibility to combat counterfeit products, and automation of paper-based processes to improve the delivery of services to organizations and citizens.’
Disclaimer: The author of this text, Robin Trehan, has an Undergraduate degree in economics, Masters in international business and finance and MBA in electronic business. Trehan is Senior VP at Deltec International www.deltecbank.com. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this text are solely the views of the author, and not necessarily reflecting the views of Deltec International Group, its subsidiaries and/or employees.
About Deltec Bank
Headquartered in The Bahamas, Deltec is an independent financial services group that delivers bespoke solutions to meet clients’ unique needs. The Deltec group of companies includes Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec Fund Services Limited, and Deltec Investment Advisers Limited, Deltec Securities Ltd. and Long Cay Captive Management.
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