This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . The Australian government is considering using blockchain to power electronic voting by 2017, according to ZDNet. A recent submission by Australia Post, the government-owned postal service, to the Victorian Electoral Matters Committee, noted that community expectations were driving a push toward digital voting, and blockchain is the ideal tech to help respond to this push while maintaining security. Blockchain is in essence a shared database, populated with entries that must be confirmed and encrypted, notes a report from BI Intelligence , Business Insider’s premium research service. It provides a means of securely and efficiently creating a tamper-proof log of sensitive activity, which can run the gamut from cross-border money transfers to a record of shareholding. Moreso, the submission highlights one way in which blockchain could provide opportunities for businesses that want to take advantage of the scalability of the cloud but are concerned over the security of data. The use of blockchain as the underlying technology for crypto currency acts as a proof of concept to its potential to capture all kinds of digital transactions in absolute, dispersed, and secure ways, according to the submission. Nevertheless, concerns over the technology’s security remain. As secure as blockchain is in theory, it still hasn’t been put to the test for real-time, large-scale transactions. Moreover, the technology remains largely unregulated in many countries globally. However, agencies in the US, Australia, Singapore, and the UK have teamed up to form the Global Blockchain Forum, aimed at influencing policy development surrounding blockchain, BI Intelligence notes. Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. […]
