We know there are many potential use cases for Blockchain technology, but did you know that the military is already implementing some?
According to news released the other day, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans on doing just that.
DARPA signed a deal with ITAMCO to develop a "secure, non-hackable messaging and transaction platform for the U.S. military."
The full release can be read here:
A messaging platform that can't be hacked?! Sounds ideal for military use!
If you are not familiar (I wasn't), ITAMCO stands for Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies. It's an American technology and services company.
Basically, the messaging platform will incorporate Blockchain technology to ensure that the data being sent is virtually hack proof.
Which is ideal in any situation, but even more crucial in a military setting.
How will it be hack proof you might ask?
Simply by being decentralized and separating the message creation from it's transmission.
What are some of it's use cases you might ask?
It's applications probably are endless, but according to the article it will most specifically be used with the communication of troops on the ground with their head quarters, and also with sending information between intelligence officers and the Pentagon.
Upon winning the DARPA contract, the director of research and development Joel Neidig had this to say:
"We are excited to work with DARPA to develop the latest in military grade encryption software using blockchain technology. We look forward to offering an enterprise solution for secure messaging to the industry."
This isn't the first ever Military use case of Blockchain technology.
Earlier in May it was reported that Lockheed Martin and Guardtime Federal had worked together on a partnership to implement the first ever blockchain technology for military purposes.
The contract was to incorporate blockchain technology into their developmental process, which would enable more efficient and assured offerings to the federal government.
With this contract, Lockeed Martin became the first U.S. defense contractor to incorporate blockchain technology.
However, this most recent use case seems to impact our military much more directly as it will be used as a means of delivering messages to and from our military troops.
In September of last year, DARPA had this to say:
"If significant portions of the Department of Defense back office infrastructure can be decentralized, smart documents and contracts can be instantly and securely send and received."
Sounds like they are finding ways of doing just that.
This is just one small step in a long line of new use cases of blockchain technology being discovered and eventually implemented on a large scale.
I think the military is just scratching the surface of all it's possible implications. The rest of the business world is likely to soon follow.
Stay informed my friends!
Sources:
Image Sources:
http://www.coindesk.com/darpa-seeks-blockchain-messaging-system-for-battlefield-back-office-use/
http://www.blockchaintechnologies.com/blockchain-definition
Follow me: @jrcornel
While hack-proof seems like a big buzzword, the real kicker with this tech is the verification.
Messages can be verified as legitimate and unaltered - helping the groups on the front line.
Great point. That is at least as valuable!
Cool! And these are the use cases that we know of. I mean, obviously there are some other highly classified ones, right?
It certainly is possible!
Tor was built by the US. Navy, but since it's been known for a few years now that tor is attack-able on a number of fronts, and since a bunch of NSA tools were just leaked I'm not surprised they are working with blockchain encryption now. However they obviously are going to take the time to do this right, with probably multiple different encryption algorithms and conversions to further obfuscate things, since while it hasn't been 100% proven, it is theoretically possible, and a pool of people have already started trying to brute force puzzle btc wallets. (look up large bitcoin collider) Now, imagine your a nation state, and everyone is spying on each other, if any large nation state wanted to attack the major blockchain projects they could, just think about all the NSA server farms THAT WE KNOW of. This looks promising, I wonder what it will end up being used for, maybe we will never know, maybe our grand kids might under a FOIA request. In blockchain we trust!
Wow. Evolution of the military,
What do you want to bet they screw it up!!!
Excellent post dear friend @jrcornel very interesting, Blockchain technology does not stop to surprise me, have incorporated the Banking entities, supermarkets, logistics companies frozen products, the other day I read a company dedicated to social service and now the military.
Thank you very much for sharing this information
have a nice week
Yep, it's popping up everywhere. Thank you, you as well!
Congratulations @jrcornel!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following category:
Blockchain technology being adopted by the military is huge! We are watching the future take shape before our eyes fellow steemers!! Great post!
Yea, the military would definitely have a use for blockchain
Blockchain is the future
Blockchain is fast changing the world as we now know it.
that's what bothers me now. I feel like this is the beginning of massive change. for good or evil i don't know
Great info, thanks @jrcornel. It just further underlines that the Blockchain technology is future for decentralized and encrypted data.
Uh oh! They're going to try to turn bitcoin into a weapon! :D
So basically blockchain is the future of everything... hmmmmmn
Is this what they want us to believe.
is this the new world order, a move to have one world currency?
Are we just being had?
this super currency and super technology that would break the borders for payment transfers so convienently exists and the bad guys do happen to notice.
Satoshi just so happens to be an anonymous person? not a CIA convert operation to get rid of Truther's Money?
Thanks for sharing.. always interesting to see the other applications for blockchain outside of the obvious
Good news for #blockchain
I like and Resteem!
nice....upvote and resteem for your post...
Good find. I wasn't aware of this!
Blockchain and crypto currency is synonymous with military grade cryptography.
"A swiss bank account in your pocket"
sounds like a great way to speed up the circulation of information and also a great way to become more efficient and save some money!
The mining infrastructure is what makes bitcoin secure. Will be interesting to see how they duplicate that. Possibly a asymetric key system running on a proof of stake?
great post!! i think there is more cases to blockchain than the ones we know
Or it could be that ITAMCO just got a big, fat government contract that will never amount to anything. Lots of "Defence" contractors already know that you can squeeze a lot of money out the government by throwing some new-technology jargon at them.
There is always that chance...
NASA paid somebody to come up with this...
https://www.rt.com/viral/390010-astronaut-1970-escape-pod/
Well we don't really know that Bitcoin wasn't actually created by a US gov agency.
Good point. So the government is paying... the government. It wouldn't be the first time ;)
We all know how it worked for the Germans during WWII...
My thoughts exactly when I read that phrase about being virtually unhackable. If a human can build it, a human can hack it at some point.