Homeland Security Standardizing Tech to Fight Counterfeiting and Forgery
The Department of Homeland Security has invested $143,000 into developing a compatibility standard for the division’s different blockchain and data formats spread across the agency. Danube Tech GmbH was awarded the contract to create a standard the division could roll out to all of its innovation centers. The aim of these technological innovations is primarily to aid in the agency’s ability to deal with counterfeiting and forgery.
Cross-Departmental Standards Needed
The press release states that US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Transport Security Administration, and US Customs and Border Protection all have data that can be secured through the use of a blockchain. These agencies are the administrators for data, including supply chain security, immigration status, and employment eligibility across the US. By using a blockchain, agencies can issue digital credentials which would be practically impossible to duplicate or forge.
The current DHS systems have heavy paper-usage and are outdated compared with methods used by other enforcement agencies. Danube Tech has the task of developing a system that integrates the blockchain capabilities and other data collection and storage systems from these departments unto something the DHS can use through an embedded API. The aim is to have a system that the DHS and all the issuing agencies can use to verify issues licenses or credentials.
Blockchain For Data Security
The system of distributed ledgering that the blockchain system is built upon is useful for issuing expirable credentials. Blockchains support something called a ‘smart contract’ that allows the automatic revocation of a license after a certain time arrives and prerequisites to renew the credentials are not met. Thanks to the use of multiple nodes to keep the data current, it is nearly impossible for a malicious user to manipulate the data. Since these nodes will be spread around numerous agencies, the difficulty increases exponentially. The DHS is finally catching up the twenty-first century in a big way by pushing for the adoption of this emergent technology.
