It was 2018, and a big pharmaceutical company had just called back millions of heart medication tablets because they were contaminated with a carcinogenic substance. This news sent a shockwave across the world and questioned the integrity of the supply chain in the pharma industry. Despite many safeguards, the complexity of the supply chain allowed a dangerous flaw to go unnoticed, which would have cost millions of people their lives. But what is the solution? In recent years, blockchain technology has emerged as one of the most promising prospects in terms of security.
Originally renowned for its applications in cryptocurrency, blockchain technology has now ventured into various other sectors. So, what is a blockchain, and how does it actually work? Essentially, a blockchain is, as its name implies, a sequence of decentralised and immutable blocks. Each block is interlinked by containing a cryptographic hash of its predecessor, rendering individual tampering with a block exceedingly challenging. Altering a block’s data would require altering the preceding block, and with the decentralised nature of the chain, such interference becomes virtually impossible. This inherent security and integrity make blockchain technology increasingly valuable for enhancing security across diverse applications.
Your Supply Chain’s Secret Weapon
The aforementioned pharma company is just one example of how opaque the current supply chains are. Today, consumers demand transparency and accountability from companies, and blockchain is the method of delivery. Traditional supply chains include a complex network of multiple parties like manufacturers, dealers, suppliers, retailers, and customers. This complexity leads to uncertainty in tracking the movement and verifying the authenticity of the goods. One example of this is Parmesan cheese. Parmesan is a specific cheese that comes from the Parmigiano region of Italy, but due to its popularity, many fakes have entered the market, and differentiating them from the real deal has become increasingly difficult. Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the game entirely. It can authenticate the cheese and help consumers get rid of the copycats.
Every unit or wheel of cheese can be assigned a unique digital identity, which is recorded on the blockchain from the point of manufacturing to the point of sale. This will ensure that the customers get an authentic product from Italy. Another great example of using blockchain for supply chain management is Maersk. The world’s largest container shipping company uses blockchain to digitise the documentation of shipping containers, reducing paperwork and increasing the efficiency of the whole process.
Guardian of Democracy
Voting is the cornerstone of democracy, and recently, many people have questioned the legitimacy of EVM machines. In the 2020 US presidential election, Donald Trump outright claimed that the Democrats messed up the EVM machines in their favour. Blockchain holds immense potential when it comes to safeguarding the election process. The decentralised nature of blockchain makes it virtually impossible for a single or even multiple entities to alter the record of votes. Each vote will be recorded in separate blocks, creating a tamper-proof chain. This ensures that when a vote is cast, it cannot be changed or deleted.
In 2018, West Virginia became the first state in the US to use blockchain technology for a federal election. The state used a blockchain-based mobile voting system, which allowed overseas soldiers to cast their votes. The system was deemed successful, as not even a single security breach was reported. This shows blockchain’s potential to prevent voter fraud and safeguard democracy.
Key to Confidential Data Exchange
Today, data is one of the most important things in the world. However, sharing data has become significantly more challenging lately. This is partly because of the numerous recent data breaches. As blockchain is more or less a decentralised ledger, it can be used to store data, which makes tampering with it or accessing it very tough. As mentioned earlier, if someone wants to alter the data, they would have to alter the whole chain, which is almost impossible.
Healthcare is a sector where data breaches have been a big challenge. This is why the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started using blockchain technology to share people’s medical data during the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, there wasn’t even a single case of a data breach, and by using blockchain technology, the CDC ensured that everyone’s data was updated and accurate.
