William Bryan, acting undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, has said that his office is working with DHS components to implement blockchain to ensure system interoperability and mitigate vendor lock-in.
He wrote in a FedTech piece published Tuesday that the department’s S&T directorate previously partnered with Customs and Border Protection to deploy blockchain and ledger technology to support international trade management for supply chain operations.
According to Bryan, letting government and industry continue implementing closed digital platforms would limit the growth of new technologies like blockchain, which can help increase visibility in supply chain operations, automate paper-based procedures and prevent cases of fraud.
“This reality means that DHS S&T must work closely with its partners at all levels — research, development, testing and evaluation — as well as throughout government and industry, so that homeland security applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technology are effective and trusted,†he said.
Research and Markets, a global market research firm, has predicted that the global blockchain industry will reach $7.7 billion in 2022.