Russian Military Is Building Blockchain-Based Cybersecurity System

A blockchain-based cybersecurity system is being developed by Russia to increase its protection against cyberattacks. The development will be spearheaded by a research lab currently in development by the country’s military tech accelerator, Coindesk reported.

Called ERA, this tech accelerator will oversee the creation of a laboratory which will then look into possible applications of blockchain in increasing Russia’s cyber prowess. While the lab itself is still in development, research on this blockchain-centered initiative has already begun.

Among the leading projects being worked on is the inception of an intelligent platform capable of safeguarding high-profile locations from cyberattacks. As such, the agency has brought in and assembled a team of information security experts.

Antivirus expert Alexey Malanov said that a blockchain-based cybersecurity system will make it more difficult for attackers to hide their tracks. He went on to explain that online intruders usually cover their trail by deleting access logs on devices they’ve managed to infiltrate.

However, if the system is designed on an immutable distributed ledger, this clandestine attack will likely fail. The former tech advisor of President Vladimir Putin, German Klimenko, praised blockchain technology and said that it has proven its mettle in improving the country’s cyber protection.

As for the lab, it’s going to be built on Anapa, a Russian coastal town. Once completed, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation's Eighth Directorate will take over the research facility.

Russia’s integration of blockchain into its military might is expected since superpowers like the U.S. have already done the same. Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor, has also incorporated this innovation into its system for the projects that it’s developing.

A blockchain-based cybersecurity system merged with a naval fleet’s weapons system can increase its protection. Indeed, the Aegis Combat System – the platform used by several naval fleets of multiple countries – has a centralized weakness that a cyberattack can shut down. But if Aegis is placed on a decentralized network where multiple nodes will support it, the chances of a successful cyberattack against the platform will be significantly reduced.