Blockchain is a powerful innovation that is poised to bring substantial positive change to the financial services industry as well as many other industries.  Despite such promise, blockchain, like any emerging financial services technology, must be evaluated from the perspective of cybersecurity risk – both to an individual financial institution and to the broader and interconnected financial services industry – because cybersecurity is a primary concern to policymakers and financial institutions.

We co-authored a whitepaper with Microsoft and the Chamber of Digital Commerce that explores the cybersecurity benefits of blockchain technologies in the financial services industry.  The paper’s objectives are to educate policymakers and financial industry participants about how blockchains may fit within broader cybersecurity objectives, create a shared understanding of some of the cybersecurity considerations and risk inherent to blockchain, and form recommendations for policymakers and industry to facilitate blockchain innovations that address extant and emerging cybersecurity threats.