(by Samburaj Das, www.criptocoinnews.com)
The government of Andhra Pradesh (AP), a state in South India, will be tapping blockchain technology to curb cybercrimes, a top cop confirmed last week.
In the face of an increasing number of cybercriminal activity, the Director General of Police in AP has revealed that the government is the first in Asia to use blockchain technology to check and fight cybercrimes.
While details of the blockchain implementation are scarce, a workshop solely focused on educating the police force on blockchain technology has been confirmed. Organized by the burgeoning Fintech initiative in the city of Visakhapatnam and technology giant IBM, the workshop is a part of a sweeping digitization program undertaken by the state and is likely to see IT forensic experts working with the police gain a crash course in blockchain technology.
Why is the state looking at blockchain cybersecurity measures? There are significant data troves that ought to be secured, for starters. For instance, the state’s government maintains a database of 103 million ration cards.
“Now, the government is encouraging [sic] to increase cashless and digital transactions from 10% to 50%,” said the secretary of Civil Supplies B Rajasekhar, according to India Today.
Notably, he added:
As the internet is prone to cybercrime and hacking, the government has decided to use the latest blockchain technology to avoid security breaches.
The tech-forward governance structure in the state will see its chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, inaugurate an exclusive blockchain technology institute in Visakhapatnam tomorrow, December 17.
In a move to establish itself as a blockchain development and Fintech hub, six companies, including the likes of IBM, will train candidates on blockchain technology to help shore the global shortage of blockchain specialists. The Monetary Authority of Singapore – the country’s national bank – will also be involved following a recent partnership between the Indian state government and Singapore’s financial regulator in a “Fintech Cooperation Agreement.”
The new digitization impetus is one seen across multiple states in the country following the central government’s demonetization drive on November 8. As the country begins to recover from the chaos, local governments are pushing campaigns encouraging a cashless transactions and digital banking. India’s finance minister recently labeled digital currency as the “new normal”, in the country.
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/indian-govt-blockchain-tech-cybercrime/
