Una mayor inversi\u00f3n por parte del gobierno chino en una variedad de aplicaciones blockchain corre el riesgo de posicionar a Beijing como l\u00edder en esta tecnolog\u00eda fundamental a expensas de la seguridad nacional de EE. UU. En 2018, un representante de la agencia de inteligencia de Rusia, el FSB, proclam\u00f3: “Internet pertenece a los estadounidenses, pero blockchain nos pertenecer\u00e1 a nosotros”. Rusia y China tienen el potencial para estandarizar sus algoritmos criptogr\u00e1ficos e instalar \u201cel perfecto caballo de Troya\u201d.<\/p>\n
For the first time, China\u2019s five-year plan for social and economic development calls for the use of\u00a0blockchain<\/a>\u00a0applications in supply chain management, e-governance and fintech, as well as related research and development on smart\u00a0contracts<\/a>, asymmetric\u00a0encryption<\/a>\u00a0and consensus\u00a0algorithms<\/a>. Chinese military\u00a0publications<\/a>\u00a0have consistently\u00a0proclaim<\/a>ed that blockchain technology will provide the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) with an edge in intelligence, weapons lifecycle, personnel management and information warfare. Greater investment by the Chinese government in a range of blockchain applications risks positioning Beijing as a leader in this foundational technology at the expense of the U.S. national security.<\/p>\n The PLA views blockchain as a way to combat disinformation domestically. Because blockchain is founded on\u00a0an immutable ledger<\/a>, it can also preserve data integrity throughout military supply chains.<\/p>\n Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced his intention to use blockchain to gain \u201ca new industrial advantage<\/a>.\u201d China appears now to be outpacing America in blockchain\u00a0patents<\/a>. Last year, the State Information Center of China and a consortium of private Chinese firms launched a\u00a0blockchain-based service network (BSN)<\/a>\u00a0with the goal of creating a global, Chinese-controlled infrastructure network. This infrastructure could provide China the ability to\u00a0monitor<\/a>American citizens\u2019 activity on the network as it expands into\u00a0the U.S. market<\/a>.<\/p>\n China is not the only country looking to secure global dominance in blockchain development. Since 2018, a Russian Ministry of Defence research lab has been conducting research on the\u00a0military applications<\/a>\u00a0of blockchain technology, especially around developing intelligent cyber defense systems. Although\u00a0news reports<\/a>\u00a0about the lab have mentioned only defensive capabilities, states can also use blockchain to strengthen offensive capabilities, such as by thwarting typical defenses against\u00a0command-and-control attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2018, a representative of Russia\u2019s intelligence agency, the FSB,\u00a0proclaimed<\/a>, \u201cthe Internet belongs to the Americans \u2014 but blockchain will belong to us.\u201d Russia and China are\u00a0sending overwhelming numbers of delegates to<\/a>\u00a0international forums working on blockchain, such as the International Standards Organization (ISO) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU). By flooding these institutions with proposed standards and adopting blockchain faster than the U.S., Russia and China have the potential to institutionalize their cryptographic algorithms and install \u201cthe perfect Trojan,\u201d as Emma Channing, cofounder of an American blockchain advisory company,\u00a0stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n A 2020 report from the\u00a0Value Technology Foundation<\/a>, IBM, Amazon and Deloitte concluded that if the U.S. does not ramp up its research and investment in this new technology, America could lose its position as a leader in capital investment, internet development and technology, and become increasingly more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Moreover, while the U.S. continues to fall behind the technical curve and is left vulnerable, Russia and China intend to leverage blockchain to harden their network defenses.<\/p>\n To reverse this trend, the U.S. must leverage the inherent advantages of liberal societies regarding innovation in general and regarding blockchain in particular. Authoritarian governments are\u00a0wary<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cpublic blockchains\u201d \u2014 blockchains that face the internet and that anyone can potentially view and interact with. Because they are hard for the state to control, these governments tend to invest less in research and development on public blockchains. However, at present, public blockchains (e.g.\u00a0Bitcoin<\/a>,\u00a0Ethereum<\/a>,\u00a0Litecoin<\/a>) are the only ones gaining traction with a larger consumer market.<\/p>\n Washington should both fund research of public and private blockchains and ensure that America does not let wariness of cryptocurrencies create an overly burdensome regulatory regime for all blockchain applications. Given the technology\u2019s potential, the U.S. military, private cybersecurity firms and security researchers should also explore cybersecurity-related applications of blockchain technology.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Commerce should commission a study on China\u2019s BSN, including the security implications of a platform run in part by China\u2019s State Information Center handling American citizen\u2019s data. Meanwhile, as American allies such as\u00a0Australia<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0United Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0are thinking strategically about the military, political and economic implications of blockchain, the U.S. should look toward future collaboration with like-minded allies on research and standardization.<\/p>\n For the U.S. military, blockchain\u2019s distributed ledger can make acquisitions data more\u00a0transparent<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0auditable<\/a>. The technology can also help combat single points of failures across the digital infrastructure. The Value Technology Foundation report noted for example that use of a blockchain application known as smart contracts in satellite control systems would make them harder to disrupt by a malicious actor.<\/p>\n For a\u00a0technology<\/a>\u00a0that is\u00a0billed<\/a>\u00a0by enthusiasts as\u00a0the next internet<\/a>, it is imperative that America act now to ensure that Russia\u2019s prediction that \u201cthe blockchain will belong to us\u201d does not come to fruition. To be sure, there is no guarantee blockchain will achieve this level of influence. However, if there is chance that blockchain is even a fraction as revolutionary as the internet, America cannot afford a wait-and-see approach.<\/p>\n