The US Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is exploring the use of blockchain technology to secure the data gleaned at borders.DHS's S&T Directorate on Friday announced that it awarded $199,000 to Factom Inc., an Austin, Texas firm to fund a project titled "Blockchain Software to Prove Integrity of Captured Data From Border Devices.""IoT devices are embedded within our daily lives – from the vehicle we drive to devices we wear – it's critical to safeguard these devices from adversaries, said DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers. "S&T is excited to engage our nation's innovators, helping us to develop novel solutions for the Homeland Security Enterprise."Factom proposes to authenticate devices to prevent spoofing and ensure data integrity using blockchain technology. Factom will create an identity log that captures the identification of a device, who manufactured it, lists of available updates, known security issues and granted authorities while adding the dimension of time for added security.
DHS to work with blockchain startup on border tech
