US Border Patrol will use blockchain to store video surveillance data

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) will boost the blockchain research of Factom, giving this Texas-based startup a grant of $192,380. This has been directly confirmed on the official website of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States.

This blockchain technology Factom is developing will be dedicated to the data coming from IoT devices, including border patrol surveillance cameras and sensors. The press release authors point out that this research will not completely rebuild the infrastructure, but rather augment or upgrade it.

The grant has been given as part of the wider program called Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP). The Homeland Security Department has already given money for blockchain studies to several other companies, as pointed out by ETHNews in May 16, 2017.

“There will be experiments and the idea there will be to highlight areas where blockchain can serve DHS,” one of the high-ranking Department officials stated to the correspondents back then. Evidently, the process is still ongoing.

Image: Susan Walsh / AP Photo