The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awards $143,478 to blockchain firm Danube Tech based in Vienna for developing blockchain security solutions.
Silicon Valley Innovation Program
On Sept 26th, United States DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced that that the Vienna based blockchain firm Danube Tech is given a contract in an attempt to fight against forgery and the counterfeiting of certificates and licenses.
The press release added that all the services will get benefits such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration, and Citizenship and Immigration Services:
“Current issuance processes are often paper-based, do not facilitate data exchange, and use among systems and could be susceptible to loss, destruction, forgery and counterfeiting. S&T is exploring the application of blockchain and DLT to issue credentials digitally to enhance security, ensure interoperability, and prevent forgery and counterfeiting.”
The funding was done through S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP). It is a program that funds private sector partners to advance security solutions for DHS.
Award money of up to $800,000 can be given ‘to develop and adapt commercial technologies for homeland security use cases.’ for those who participate in SVIP.
Blockchain Trial for US Border Protection and Custom
In August, CBP advisory committee ‘ran tests of its blockchain-based “Intellectual Property Rights Proof of Concept,” which is an attempt to run shipments via blockchain, relying on pre-existing licensor and sublicensee relationships.’
In August 2018, CBP already ran a test for a blockchain-based shipping project. It was a combination of CBP’s legacy application and a blockchain-based platform developed by DHS.