USA and South Korean Defense Departments experiment with Blockchain

In the past week two announcements have been made pertaining to the experimentation of defense organizations with Blockchain. The U.S. Department of Defense in a strategic plan published by them stated that the agency is experimenting with blockchain based security measures.

The Defense Advances Research Project Agency (DARPA) is using a blockchain protocol to create a more efficient and secure platform to allow personnel to transmit secure messages and process transactions that are traceable through a distributed ledger. It is also working to develop an "unhackable code" using intelligence provided by blockchain technology on hackers who try to break into secure databases.

In another announcement just after, South Korea’s Defense acquisitions agency released that they were building a blockchain platform to improve operations. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), South Korea's military acquisitions agency, is developing a blockchain platform to improve business operations.

DAPA has signed an agreement with three national defense institutions - the Defense Agency of Technology and Quality (DTaQ), the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and the Korea Defense Industry Association (KDIA) for the initiative, as announced late last month.

According to the announcement, the blockchain platform aims to improve the procurement of military equipment, equipment logistics, and the appropriation of funds. The agency looks to explore several other uses cases, including certification, import and export approvals and the management of defense raw materials, in the future. Kim Tae-gon, senior planning and coordination officer at DAPA, said: "We plan to apply the blockchain technology, one of the key technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, to the defense business service to innovate the public service."  DAPA initially announced the plan to launch a blockchain pilot project back in April.

These are interesting announcements, as usually defense organizations would not consider utilizing a new technology unless they considered it not only useful but secure enough to do so. These two announcements reflect the growing popularity of blockchain and its adoption in key yet sensitive sectors such as defense.