What is Blockchain Good For? Here are some guidelines.

 

Welcome to the third article in our series of blogs about blockchain technology and its impact on business practices, corporate governance and cybersecurity.

 

 

In Robert Braun’s article, Blockchain: The good, the bad, and how to tell the difference published by FinTech Weekly, he explores two issues about blockchain that trouble many in the business community: “How secure is blockchain, really?” and “Is it too good for criminals”? He also explains the connection between blockchain and climate change, and offers up some guidelines for adopting blockchain (or investing in its technology). He writes:

“Blockchain has been touted as a disruptive technology that can be used to benefit virtually any transaction, ranging from money transmission to supply chain management, to restaurant reservations.  With its promise of highly secure, private and instantaneous transactions, blockchain would seem to enhance any transfer or transaction. But while blockchain technology has caught the imagination of the public, it is based on an extension of existing technologies, not on something truly new.  It is disruptive, but not in the sense that the creation of mortgage-backed securities or the Internet was disruptive.  Those changes created entirely new opportunities and markets; blockchain is a technique that allows for new ways of doing the same thing.  At the same time, cryptocurrencies – by far, the most popular of blockchain applications – has shown the shortcomings in the technology or, at least, in how it has been adopted.”

To read the full article, see Blockchain: The good, the bad, and how to tell the difference

To read the first article in this series, see So, What is This Blockchain Thing?
To read the second article in this series, see The Four Horsemen of Cryptocurrencies: Volatility, criminal activity, security issues and human error

 

Robert E. Braun is the co-chair of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Group at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP. Bob helps clients to develop and implement privacy and information security policies, negotiate agreements for technologies and data management services, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements. He helps clients to develop and implement data breach response plans, and he and his team respond quickly to clients’ needs when a data breach occurs. Contact Bob at RBraun@jmbm.com or +1 310.785.5331.

JMBM’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Group counsels clients in a wide variety of industries, including accounting firms, law firms, business management firms and family offices, in matters ranging from development of cybersecurity strategies, creation of data security and privacy policies, responding to data breaches and regulatory inquiries and investigations, and crisis management. The Cybersecurity and Privacy Group uses a focused intake methodology that permits clients to get a reliable sense of their cybersecurity readiness and to determine optimal, client-specific approaches to cybersecurity.