Difference between revisions of "Technology Trends/Blockchain"

From wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m
 
(40 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
{{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);">{{FULLPAGENAME}}</span>}}
  Title :
+
[[fr:Tendances_Technologiques/Chaîne_de_Blocs]]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Blockchain}}
 
  
<multilang>
+
<div class="mw-collapsible" data-expandtext="Show Detailed View" data-collapsetext="Hide Detailed View">
@en|
+
  <div class="sidetable">
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
    <table class="wikitable">
  Title :      Breadcrumbs
+
      <tr>
  Description :
+
        <th class="breadcrumb" colspan="2">
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
+
          <table class="breadcrumb-table">
[[Technology Briefing Papers|Back to Technology Brief]]
+
            <tr>
 +
              <th>[[Technology_Trends|Technology Trends]]</th>
 +
              <th> / </th>
 +
              <th>Blockchain</th>
 +
            </tr>
 +
          </table>
 +
          <table class="breadcrumb-table">
 +
            <tr>
 +
              <th>[[Tendances_Technologiques|Tendances Technologiques]]</th>
 +
              <th> / </th>
 +
              <th>[[Tendances_Technologiques/Chaîne_de_Blocs|Chaîne de Blocs]]</th>
 +
            </tr>
 +
          </table>
 +
        </th>
 +
      </tr>
 +
      <tr><td colspan="2" class="logo">[[File:Blockchain_logo.png|200px]]</td></tr>
 +
      <tr>
 +
        <th>Status</th>
 +
        <td>Published</td>
 +
      </tr>
 +
      <tr>
 +
        <th>Initial release</th>
 +
        <td>May 23, 2019</td>
 +
      </tr>
 +
      <tr>
 +
        <th>Latest version</th>
 +
        <td>November 25, 2019</td>
 +
      </tr>
 +
       <tr>
 +
        <th>Official publication</th>
 +
        <td>[[Media:EN_-_Technology_Trends_-_Blockchain_-_v0.2.pdf|Blockchain.pdf]]</td>
 +
      </tr>
 +
      <tr><td colspan="2" class="disclaimer"><table><tr>
 +
        <td>[[File:Traffic_cone.png|40px]]</td>
 +
        <td class="disclaimerText">This page is a work in progress. We welcome your feedback. Please use the discussion page for suggestions and comments. When the page is approved and finalized, we will send it for translation.</td>
 +
      </tr></table></td></tr>
 +
    </table>
 +
  </div>
  
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
  <br><p><b>Blockchain</b> is a list of digital records (called blocks) that are securely linked together to form a chain using secure encryption and time stamps. Blockchains form a digital ledger, which is a history of transaction records that can be accessed by multiple users but cannot be individually modified.</p>
  Title :      Disclamer
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<div style="border: 1px solid red; background-color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.3);">This page is a work in progress. We welcome your feedback. Please use the discussion page for suggestions and comments. When the page is approved and finalized, we will send it for translation.</div>
 
  
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
  <div class="mw-collapsible-toggle btn" style="float: left; display: block;">
  Title :      Right Side Panel
+
    <div class="toggle mw-collapsible-toggle-collapsed" role="button" tabindex="0"><span class="mw-collapsible-text">Hide Detailed View</span></div>
  Description : Give the logo and important information
+
   </div><br><br>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<div style="float: right;">
 
  <table class="wikitable">
 
    <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">[[File:Blockchain_logo.png|200px]]</td></tr>
 
    <tr><th colspan="2">Blockchain</th></tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Initial release</th>
 
      <td>May 23, 2019</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Latest version</th>
 
      <td>May 23, 2019</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Development File</th>
 
      <td>[https://github.com/gctools-outilsgc/design-system Github Repository]</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>GitHub repository</th>
 
      <td>[https://github.com/gctools-outilsgc/design-system Github Repository]</td>
 
    </tr>
 
   </table>
 
</div>
 
 
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Introductory paragraph
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<b>Blockchain</b> is a list of digital records (called blocks) that are securely linked together to form a chain using secure encryption and time stamps. Blockchains form a digital ledger, which is a history of transaction records that can be accessed by multiple users but cannot be individually modified.
 
 
 
The theory behind blockchain was first described in 1991. The desire was to create a system in which documents could be timestamped and linked together digitally or cryptographically. In 2008, someone or a group of people, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, created the first cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. The creation of Bitcoin in 2008 also unveiled the technology behind it - Blockchain. Blockchain provides the means for recording bitcoin transactions (as a shared ledger), which can be used to record any transaction and track the movement of any asset that is tangible, intangible or digital.
 
 
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Content
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<h2>Business Brief</h2>
 
Due to increasing mistrust around data sharing by some large corporations, as well as the financial crisis earlier that year, there was a growing desire for a means in which personal data or currency could be held individually. It needed to be decentralized and needed to reduce the requirement for middlemen, such as banks, brokers, or insurance companies. As the first of its kind, blockchain technology was revolutionary.
 
 
 
While blockchain technology has begun to expand since its creation, when it first began, users were exclusively individuals. While individual uses involving cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin are still in existence, companies such as Ethereum, Golem, and Blockstack have since emerged and also employ blockchain technology for the rendering of “smart contracts” between individual parties, the sharing of computer processing power and open-source app development respectively. However, the technology is still deemed immature and underutilized. Of the respondents to Gartner’s 2018 CIO Survey, only 1% have invested in and deployed blockchain technology.
 
 
 
<h2>Technology Brief</h2>
 
In contrast to traditional records of transactions, which often require an intermediary such as a bank or other administrator, and involve multiple records of the same transaction, the data or transaction records contained within a blockchain are decentralized. For example, in a traditional purchase, a consumer would have a record, the merchant would have a record, a supplier would have a record, and an auditor or accountant would have a record. The bank would also have a record. All of these records are kept separately. Therefore, this process requires a great deal of trust between the individual parties that one record will not be tampered with or lost.
 
  
With a blockchain transaction, each of the parties involved (called nodes, users or miners), all have the same replica of a ledger, which is contained in the blockchain on a peer-to-peer (or node-to-node) network. As a result, the bank and the traditional merchant databases traditionally used to record and organize the data in ledger would be eliminated (i.e. transaction time and date, product, buyer).
+
  <h2>Business Brief</h2>
 +
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">The theory behind blockchain was first described in 1991. The desire was to create a system in which documents could be timestamped and linked together digitally or cryptographically. In 2008, someone or a group of people, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, created the first cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. The creation of Bitcoin in 2008 also unveiled the technology behind it - Blockchain. Blockchain provides the means for recording bitcoin transactions (as a shared ledger), which can be used to record any transaction and track the movement of any asset that is tangible, intangible or digital.</p>
  
In order to form a block or a blockchain, each user requires a specialized computer and mining software. A blockchain is managed and verified collaboratively on a network accessed by multiple users or nodes. These users work collaboratively and use mining and “consensus algorithms” to solve complex mathematical problems. A consensus algorithm is an agreed-upon process for solving calculations and there are several used in blockchain technology depending on the type of calculation to be solved and the type of data to be verified.
+
  <p>Due to increasing mistrust around data sharing by some large corporations, as well as the financial crisis earlier that year, there was a growing desire for a means in which personal data or currency could be held individually. It needed to be decentralized and needed to reduce the requirement for middlemen, such as banks, brokers, or insurance companies. As the first of its kind, blockchain technology was revolutionary.<ref>Gilder, G. (2018). Life After Google: <i>The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy.</i> New Jersey: Gateway Editions.</ref></p>
  
Blockchain’s decentralized, open and cryptographic nature allows people to trust each other and perform perform peer to peer transactions, which removes the need for intermediaries. It is resistant to hacking attacks that impact centralized intermediaries like banks because to succeed, an attacker would need to hack both the specific block in a blockchain as well as every one of the other potentially million ledgers in the network simultaneously. This would be a difficult endeavor given that the blocks are secured with both public and private keys and require verification by multiple individual users and computers. Even if it were possible, they would also need to update every subsequent transaction in the chain and overwrite every other copy of the ledger in the network to ensure integrity of the new chain.
+
  <p class="inline">While blockchain technology has begun to expand since its creation, when it first began, users were exclusively individuals. While individual uses involving cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin are still in existence, companies such as Ethereum, Golem, and Blockstack have since emerged and also employ blockchain technology for the rendering of “smart contracts” between individual parties, the sharing of computer processing power and open-source app development respectively. However, the technology is still deemed immature and underutilized.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> Of the respondents to Gartner’s 2018 CIO Survey, only 1% have invested in and deployed blockchain technology.<ref>Furlonger, D., & Kandaswamy, R. (25 July 2018). <i>[https://www.gartner.com/document/3883991 Hype Cycle for Blockchain Technologies].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>
  
Despite this natural resistance to attacks, it was reported in the MIT Technology Review that security holes are increasingly appearing in cryptocurrency and smart contract platforms. In some cases, the security issues are fundamental to the way the platforms were built. By gaining control of more than half of the network’s computer power, a hacker was attempting to rewrite the transaction history of the exchange platform for cryptocurrency called Coinbase, allowing for the same cryptocurrency to be spent more than once to a total value of $1.1 million.
+
  <h2>Technology Brief</h2>
  
<h2>Industry Usage</h2>
+
  <p>In contrast to traditional records of transactions, which often require an intermediary such as a bank or other administrator, and involve multiple records of the same transaction, the data or transaction records contained within a blockchain are decentralized. For example, in a traditional purchase, a consumer would have a record, the merchant would have a record, a supplier would have a record, and an auditor or accountant would have a record. The bank would also have a record. All of these records are kept separately. Therefore, this process requires a great deal of trust between the individual parties that one record will not be tampered with or lost.</p>
The most well-known use of blockchain is in support of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. A digital currency launched in 2009, Bitcoin does not rely on a monetary authority to monitor verify or approve transactions, but rather relies on a peer-to-peer computer network made up of its users’ machines to do that. Blockchain can be used for all sorts of inter-organizational cooperation. In 2017, Harvard Business Review estimated that approximately 15% of banks are expected to be using blockchain.
 
  
Although Bitcoin is the first and most well-known use of the blockchain technology, it is only one of about seven hundred applications that use the blockchain distributed ledger system. Blockchain is a digital ledger on top of which organizations can build trusted applications, via a secure chain of custody for digital records.
+
  <p>With a blockchain transaction, each of the parties involved (called nodes, users or miners), all have the same replica of a ledger, which is contained in the blockchain on a peer-to-peer (or node-to-node) network. As a result, the bank and the traditional merchant databases traditionally used to record and organize the data in ledger would be eliminated (i.e. transaction time and date, product, buyer).</p>
  
<h2>Canadian Government Use</h2>
+
  <p>In order to form a block or a blockchain, each user requires a specialized computer and mining software. A blockchain is managed and verified collaboratively on a network accessed by multiple users or nodes. These users work collaboratively and use mining and “consensus algorithms” to solve complex mathematical problems. A consensus algorithm is an agreed-upon process for solving calculations and there are several used in blockchain technology depending on the type of calculation to be solved and the type of data to be verified.</p>
Canada does not currently have a federal policy on blockchain. While blockchain is an important emerging technology, how it could be used by the Government remains to be seen. At this point, the ideal GC use case for blockchain would be a system of public record to register secure transactions from multiple contributors toward distributing a single source of truth in a non-refutable fashion.
 
  
According to Gartner, there is no Government around the world that is operating a true blockchain initiative , although some (State of Georgia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirate) are operating pseudo-initiatives and starting to experiment with the technologyTreasury Board of Canada notes highlights a few specific initiatives: Estonia uses an eHealth Foundation partnership to accelerate blockchain-based systems to ensure security, transparency, and auditability of patient healthcare records. Singapore employs the use of blockchain to prevent traders from defrauding banks through a unique distributed ledger-based system focused on preventing invoice fraud.
+
  <p class="inline">Blockchain’s decentralized, open and cryptographic nature allows people to trust each other and perform perform peer to peer transactions, which removes the need for intermediaries. It is resistant to hacking attacks that impact centralized intermediaries like banks because to succeed, an attacker would need to hack both the specific block in a blockchain as well as every one of the other potentially million ledgers in the network simultaneously.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> This would be a difficult endeavor given that the blocks are secured with both public and private keys and require verification by multiple individual users and computers. Even if it were possible, they would also need to update every subsequent transaction in the chain and overwrite every other copy of the ledger in the network to ensure integrity of the new chain.</p>
 +
   <p class="inline-spacer"></p>
 +
  <p class="inline">Despite this natural resistance to attacks, it was reported in the MIT Technology Review that security holes are increasingly appearing in cryptocurrency and smart contract platforms. In some cases, the security issues are fundamental to the way the platforms were built.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> By gaining control of more than half of the network’s computer power, a hacker was attempting to rewrite the transaction history of the exchange platform for cryptocurrency called Coinbase, allowing for the same cryptocurrency to be spent more than once to a total value of $1.1 million.<ref>Orcutt, M. (19 February 2019). <i>[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612974/once-hailed-as-unhackable-blockchains-are-now-getting-hacked/ Once hailed as unhackable, blockchains are now getting hacked].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>
  
In 2017, “The Blockchain Corridor: Building an Innovation Economy in the 2nd Era of the Internet” was developed, discussing ways to turn Canada into a global hub for the “Blockchain revolution.” Written by a high-tech think tank and prepared for / partially funded by the federal Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), the report lays out a few proposals regarding how to cement Canada’s role as a world leader in blockchain technology. The Canadian Government announced in July 2017 the intention to run at least 6 select pilot projects on the use of blockchain.
+
  <h2>Industry Usage</h2>
  
This included establishing a digital economy commission, which will be tasked with developing solid recommendations regarding how Canada can become a leader in developing technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles. It also recommended getting governments currently using blockchain to transform their own operations and provide examples of how the technology can benefit public sectors in Canada and abroad.  Governments could use blockchain to verify the payment of taxes and manage public services more efficiently.
+
  <p>The most well-known use of blockchain is in support of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. A digital currency launched in 2009, Bitcoin does not rely on a monetary authority to monitor verify or approve transactions, but rather relies on a peer-to-peer computer network made up of its users’ machines to do that. Blockchain can be used for all sorts of inter-organizational cooperation. In 2017, Harvard Business Review estimated that approximately 15% of banks are expected to be using blockchain.<ref>Gupta, V. (28 February 2017). <i>[https://hbr.org/2017/02/a-brief-history-of-blockchain A Brief History of Blockchain].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>
  
<h2>Implications for Government Agencies</h2>
+
  <p>Although Bitcoin is the first and most well-known use of the blockchain technology, it is only one of about seven hundred applications that use the blockchain distributed ledger system. Blockchain is a digital ledger on top of which organizations can build trusted applications, via a secure chain of custody for digital records.</p>
<h3>Shared Services Canada (SSC)</h3>
 
  
<h4>Value Proposition</h4>
+
  <h2>Canadian Government Use</h2>
Collaborative technologies like blockchain promise the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” As a result, blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments, but in doing so means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.
+
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">Canada does not currently have a federal policy on blockchain. While blockchain is an important emerging technology, how it could be used by the Government remains to be seen. At this point, the ideal GC use case for blockchain would be a system of public record to register secure transactions from multiple contributors toward distributing a single source of truth in a non-refutable fashion.</p>
Blockchain offers a numbers of benefits to the Government of Canada, such as a reduction in costs and complexity, trusted record keeping and user-centric privacy control. It offers significant opportunities in terms of a single source for public records, support for multiple contributors and a technology ideal for multi-jurisdictional interactions. Due to its decentralized, collaborative nature, it potentially aligns well with policies and practices around Open Government, which aim to make Government services, data, and digital records more accessible to Canadians.
 
  
By eliminating the duplication and reducing the need for intermediaries, blockchain technology could be used by SSC to speed-up aspects of service delivery. A challenge for SSC in terms of blockchain will be to identify which enterprise solutions emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.
+
  <p>According to Gartner, there is no Government around the world that is operating a true blockchain initiative , although some (State of Georgia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirate) are operating pseudo-initiatives and starting to experiment with the technology.<ref>Gartner conference call.</ref> Treasury Board of Canada notes highlights a few specific initiatives: Estonia uses an eHealth Foundation partnership to accelerate blockchain-based systems to ensure security, transparency, and auditability of patient healthcare records. Singapore employs the use of blockchain to prevent traders from defrauding banks through a unique distributed ledger-based system focused on preventing invoice fraud.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada</ref></p>
  
Currently, a number of Government agencies are engaged in Blockchain in a number of ways. Maybe SSC could support the following departments in their initiatives to explore how Blockchain can help solve these issues:
+
  <p>In 2017, “The Blockchain Corridor: Building an Innovation Economy in the 2nd Era of the Internet” was developed, discussing ways to turn Canada into a global hub for the “Blockchain revolution.” Written by a high-tech think tank and prepared for / partially funded by the federal Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), the report lays out a few proposals regarding how to cement Canada’s role as a world leader in blockchain technology. The Canadian Government announced in July 2017 the intention to run at least 6 select pilot projects on the use of blockchain.<ref>Secretariat, T. B. (29 March 2019). <i>[https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/digital-operations-strategic-plan-2018-2022.html Digital Operations Strategic Plan: 2018-2022].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>
<ul>
 
  <li><b>Elections Canada</b> – practical applications to support Voter List Management, Secure Identity Management, and management of electoral geography.</li>
 
  <li><b>Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada</b> – exploring implications for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.</li>
 
  <li><b>Public Safety Canada</b> – focused on various uses and misuses of virtual currencies, such as extortion or blackmail.</li>
 
  <li><b>Natural Resources Canada</b> – use as a public registry for the disclosure of payments under the Extractive Sectors Transparency Measures Act.</li>
 
  <li><b>Bank of Canada</b> – exploring a proof of concept model alongside Payments Canada, Canadian commercial banks and the R3 consortium.</li>
 
  <li><b>ISED</b> – engagement with Government departments, provincial-territorial-municipal partners, and key industry players.</li>
 
</ul>
 
  
<h4>Challenges</h4>
+
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">This included establishing a digital economy commission, which will be tasked with developing solid recommendations regarding how Canada can become a leader in developing technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles. It also recommended getting governments currently using blockchain to transform their own operations and provide examples of how the technology can benefit public sectors in Canada and abroad. Governments could use blockchain to verify the payment of taxes and manage public services more efficiently.</p>
There are weaknesses in terms of technological complexity, intensive computational and storage demands and a requirement for common software across all nodes. There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process. Truly digital assets with a single copy can be destroyed and a government network housing such assets would represent a very public target for malicious actors.
 
  
It is important to remember that Blockchain, while a technological innovation in transactional business and chain of digital custody, is not a single solution to transactional challenges facing the GC.
+
  <h2>Implications for Government Agencies</h2>
 +
  <h3>Shared Services Canada (SSC)</h3>
  
The amount of time and energy required to maintain the blockchain and create new blocks is not small and this is a frequent criticism of the technology. Conventional database entry, such as using SQL, takes only milliseconds, compared to blockchain, which takes several minutes. Due to the length of time required as well as the need for multiple computers to verify the blocks, blockchains consume an enormous amount of energy. However, as technology advances, the blockchain consensus process takes closer to three minutes with Ethereum, which is currently among the most advanced blockchains available.xxiii Even older blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are still faster than traditional financial transactions, such as the stock exchange, which can take days to be verified and finalized. Despite this, services or transactions that require rapid speed, may not be suitable for blockchain.
+
  <h4>Value Proposition</h4>
 +
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">Collaborative technologies like blockchain promise the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” As a result, blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments, but in doing so means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5.</ref></p>
  
There are also some concerns with respect to privacy. Since blockchain is built on the premise of decentralization and transparency, the data within the chain is technically available for anyone on the network, provided they have the computational power and knowledge to gain access. Instead of being identified on the network by name, users have encryption keys, which is a list of seemingly random numbers and letters. While more private than a name or other demographic information, users could still be identified by their keys over time. Also, any data contained within a block that may have personal information that an individual wishes to keep private, such as medical records for example, may not be well suited for a blockchain as it will be transparent and visible to other users.
+
  <p>Blockchain offers a numbers of benefits to the Government of Canada, such as a reduction in costs and complexity, trusted record keeping and user-centric privacy control. It offers significant opportunities in terms of a single source for public records, support for multiple contributors and a technology ideal for multi-jurisdictional interactions. Due to its decentralized, collaborative nature, it potentially aligns well with policies and practices around Open Government, which aim to make Government services, data, and digital records more accessible to Canadians.</p>
  
<h4>Considerations</h4>
+
  <p>By eliminating the duplication and reducing the need for intermediaries, blockchain technology could be used by SSC to speed-up aspects of service delivery. A challenge for SSC in terms of blockchain will be to identify which enterprise solutions emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.</p>
By using an agreed upon consensus algorithm, collaborative technology like Blockchain promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” The cost of trust is lowered because there is only one record of a transaction that needs to be kept and all stakeholders trust that record.
 
  
In a traditional transaction, all stakeholders have to keep a record of the transaction and in the case of a discrepancy, it was more difficult / costly to determine the accuracy of a record. As a result, Blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments. However, to doing so, it means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.
+
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">Currently, a number of Government agencies are engaged in Blockchain in a number of ways. Maybe SSC could support the following departments in their initiatives to explore how Blockchain can help solve these issues:
 +
    <ul>
 +
      <li><b>Elections Canada</b> – practical applications to support Voter List Management, Secure Identity Management, and management of electoral geography.</li>
 +
      <li><b>Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada</b> – exploring implications for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.</li>
 +
      <li><b>Public Safety Canada</b> – focused on various uses and misuses of virtual currencies, such as extortion or blackmail.</li>
 +
      <li><b>Natural Resources Canada</b> – use as a public registry for the disclosure of payments under the Extractive Sectors Transparency Measures Act.</li>
 +
      <li><b>Bank of Canada</b> – exploring a proof of concept model alongside Payments Canada, Canadian commercial banks and the R3 consortium.</li>
 +
      <li><b>ISED</b> – engagement with Government departments, provincial-territorial-municipal partners, and key industry players.</li>
 +
    </ul>
 +
  </p>
  
Further research is needed to understand the potential impacts that blockchain could have on SSC as a service provider as well on the usage amounts the GC would require. SSC should consider the identification of client areas where blockchain may be leveraged. It may be required that client departments self-identify spaces which could benefit from blockchain processes. A challenge for SSC will be to identify which partner organizations and enterprise solutions require priority blockchain pilot projects as well as be able to identify departments that emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.
+
  <h4>Challenges</h4>
 +
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">There are weaknesses in terms of technological complexity, intensive computational and storage demands and a requirement for common software across all nodes. There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process. Truly digital assets with a single copy can be destroyed and a government network housing such assets would represent a very public target for malicious actors.<ref>Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). <i>[https://www.conferenceboard.ca/temp/7dc77c07-7e5a-4be6-ad6d-7d1070f9ac20/9591_Cautious%20Optimism_BR.pdf Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019 Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services].</i> Retrieved on 23 May 2019</ref></p>
  
Lastly, SSC and the GC should consider the capacity issues in resources, network capabilities, and time required to create and maintain blockchain networks on its own. Blockchain is not a pedestrian technology, it will require dedicated teams that are appropriately resourced and financed in order for the technology to be deployed as any other service. SSC may wish to consider looking for private sector companies that specialize in providing Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), and determine the risk and cost benefits of outsourcing this process altogether.
+
  <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">It is important to remember that Blockchain, while a technological innovation in transactional business and chain of digital custody, is not a single solution to transactional challenges facing the GC.</p>
  
 +
  <p class="inline">The amount of time and energy required to maintain the blockchain and create new blocks is not small and this is a frequent criticism of the technology. Conventional database entry, such as using SQL, takes only milliseconds, compared to blockchain, which takes several minutes. Due to the length of time required as well as the need for multiple computers to verify the blocks, blockchains consume an enormous amount of energy.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> However, as technology advances, the blockchain consensus process takes closer to three minutes with Ethereum, which is currently among the most advanced blockchains available.xxiii Even older blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are still faster than traditional financial transactions, such as the stock exchange, which can take days to be verified and finalized. Despite this, services or transactions that require rapid speed, may not be suitable for blockchain.</p>
 +
  <p class="inline-spacer"></p>
 +
  <p class="inline">There are also some concerns with respect to privacy. Since blockchain is built on the premise of decentralization and transparency, the data within the chain is technically available for anyone on the network, provided they have the computational power and knowledge to gain access. Instead of being identified on the network by name, users have encryption keys, which is a list of seemingly random numbers and letters.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> While more private than a name or other demographic information, users could still be identified by their keys over time. Also, any data contained within a block that may have personal information that an individual wishes to keep private, such as medical records for example, may not be well suited for a blockchain as it will be transparent and visible to other users.<ref>Diedrich, H. (2016). <i>Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.</i> Scotts Valley: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.</ref></p>
  
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
  <h4>Considerations</h4>
   Title :      OGD Content
+
   <p class="expand mw-collapsible-content">By using an agreed upon consensus algorithm, collaborative technology like Blockchain promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” The cost of trust is lowered because there is only one record of a transaction that needs to be kept and all stakeholders trust that record.</p>
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
  
<div class="mw-collapsible toccolours mw-collapsed">
+
  <p>In a traditional transaction, all stakeholders have to keep a record of the transaction and in the case of a discrepancy, it was more difficult / costly to determine the accuracy of a record. As a result, Blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments. However, to doing so, it means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.<ref>Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5. </ref></p>
OGD title
 
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
 
'''Open source {{!}} Logiciel libre'''<br><br>
 
</div>
 
</div>
 
  
=References=
+
  <p class="inline">Further research is needed to understand the potential impacts that blockchain could have on SSC as a service provider as well on the usage amounts the GC would require. SSC should consider the identification of client areas where blockchain may be leveraged. It may be required that client departments self-identify spaces which could benefit from blockchain processes.</p><p class="expand inline mw-collapsible-content"> A challenge for SSC will be to identify which partner organizations and enterprise solutions require priority blockchain pilot projects as well as be able to identify departments that emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.</p>
  
 +
  <p>Lastly, SSC and the GC should consider the capacity issues in resources, network capabilities, and time required to create and maintain blockchain networks on its own. Blockchain is not a pedestrian technology, it will require dedicated teams that are appropriately resourced and financed in order for the technology to be deployed as any other service. SSC may wish to consider looking for private sector companies that specialize in providing Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), and determine the risk and cost benefits of outsourcing this process altogether.</p>
  
 +
  <h2>Hype Cycle</h2>
  
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
  <div class="container">
  Title :       References
+
    <div class="row">
  Description :
+
      <div class="col-sm-4">
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
+
        <table class="wikitable hypecycleTable">
<ref>Plunkett, John. [http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1601858,00.html "Sorrell accuses Murdoch of panic buying"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', London, 27 October 2005. Retrieved on 27 October 2005.</ref>
+
          <tr>
<ref>Plunkett, John. "Sorrell accuses Murdoch of panic buying", ''[[The Guardian]]'', London, 27 October 2005.</ref>
+
            <th>English</th>
 +
            <th>Français</th>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Expectations</td>
 +
            <td>Attentes</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Time</td>
 +
            <td>Temps</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain Wallet Platform</td>
 +
            <td>Plate-forme de portefeuille de la chaîne de blocs</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain Interoperability</td>
 +
            <td>Interopérabilité de la chaîne de blocs</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Postquantum Blockchain</td>
 +
            <td>Chaîne de blocs post-quantique</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Smart Contract Oracle</td>
 +
            <td>Oracle des contrats intelligents</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Zero Knowledge Proofs</td>
 +
            <td>Preuve à divulgation nulle de connaissance</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Distributed Storage in Blockchain</td>
 +
            <td>Stockage distribué dans la chaîne de blocs</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Smart Contracts</td>
 +
            <td>Contrats intelligents</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain for IAM</td>
 +
            <td>Chaîne de blocs pour la gestion des identités et de l’accès</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain PaaS</td>
 +
            <td>Chaîne de blocs à titre de PaaS</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain for Data Security</td>
 +
            <td>Chaîne de blocs pour la sécurité des données</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Decentralized Applications</td>
 +
            <td>Applications décentralisées</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Consensus Mechanisms</td>
 +
            <td>Mécanismes de consensus</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Metacoin Platforms</td>
 +
            <td>Plates-formes de Metacoin</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Sidechains/Channels</td>
 +
            <td>Chaînes latérales/canaux</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Multiparty Computing</td>
 +
            <td>Calcul multipartite</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets</td>
 +
            <td>Portefeuilles matériels de cryptomonnaie</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Cryptocurrency Software Wallets</td>
 +
            <td>Portefeuilles logiciels de cryptomonnaie</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Blockchain</td>
 +
            <td>Chaîne de blocs</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Distributed Ledgers</td>
 +
            <td>Grands livres distribués</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Cryptocurrency Mining</td>
 +
            <td>Minage de cryptomonnaie</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Innovation Trigger</td>
 +
            <td>Déclencheur d’innovation</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Peak of Inflated Exepctations</td>
 +
            <td>Pic des attentes exagérées</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Trough of Disillusionment</td>
 +
            <td>Gouffre des désillusions</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Slope of Enlightenment</td>
 +
            <td>Pente de l’illumination</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Plateau of Productivity</td>
 +
            <td>Plateau de productivité</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>As of July 2018</td>
 +
            <td>En date de juillet 2018</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Plateau will be reached:</td>
 +
            <td>Le plateau sera atteint :</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Less than 2 years</td>
 +
            <td>dans moins de 2 ans</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>2 to 5 years</td>
 +
            <td>dans 2 à 5 ans</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>5 to 10 years</td>
 +
            <td>dans 5 à 10 ans</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>More than 10 years</td>
 +
            <td>dans plus de 10 ans</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Obsolete before plateau</td>
 +
            <td>Désuet avant le plateau</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
          <tr>
 +
            <td>Source: Gartner (July 2018)</td>
 +
            <td>Source : Gartner (juillet 2018)</td>
 +
          </tr>
 +
        </table>
 +
      </div>
 +
    </div>
 +
  </div>
  
 +
  <h2>References</h2>
  
@fr|
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Breadcrumbs
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
[[Technology Briefing Papers|Retour aux tendances technologiques]]
 
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Disclamer
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
Cette page est en cours de travail. On encourage les commentaires.
 
This page is a work in progress. We welcome your feedback. Please use the discussion page for suggestions and comments. When the page is approved and finalized, we will send it for translation.
 
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Right Side Panel
 
  Description : Give the logo and important information
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<div style="float: right;">
 
  <table class="wikitable">
 
    <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">[[File:Blockchain_logo.png|200px]]</td></tr>
 
    <tr><th colspan="2">Blockchain</th></tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Version initiale</th>
 
      <td>23 mai 2019</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Version à jour</th>
 
      <td>23 mai 2019</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Fichier de développement</th>
 
      <td>[https://github.com/gctools-outilsgc/design-system Github Repository]</td>
 
    </tr>
 
    <tr>
 
      <th>Dépôt Github</th>
 
      <td>[https://github.com/gctools-outilsgc/design-system Github Repository]</td>
 
    </tr>
 
  </table>
 
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
{{#css:
  Title :       Introductory paragraph
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
La <b>chaîne de blocs</b> est une liste de dossiers numériques (appelés blocs) qui sont liés de manière sécuritaire pour former une chaîne au moyen d’un chiffrement sécurisé et d’horodateurs. Les chaînes de blocs forment un grand livre numérique qui constitue un historique des transactions enregistrées auxquelles peuvent accéder de multiples utilisateurs, mais qui ne peuvent pas être modifiées individuellement.
 
 
 
La théorie derrière la chaîne de blocs a été décrite pour la première fois en 1991. On souhaitait alors créer un système dans lequel les documents pouvaient être horodatés et liés entre eux de manière numérique ou cryptographique. En 2008, une personne ou un groupe de personnes œuvrant sous le pseudonyme « Satoshi Nakamoto » a créé la première cryptomonnaie, le Bitcoin. La création du Bitcoin en 2008 a également mis à jour la technologie derrière cette cryptomonnaie : la chaîne de blocs. La chaîne de blocs permet de consigner les transactions de Bitcoins (en tant que grand livre partagé) et peut être utilisée pour consigner toute transaction et suivre les déplacements de tout élément d’actif corporel, incorporel ou numérique.
 
 
 
<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  Title :      Content
 
  Description :
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
 
<h2>Sommaire opérationnel</h2>
 
En raison de la méfiance croissante à l’égard du partage de données par certaines grandes entreprises et de la crise financière ayant eu lieu plus tôt pendant l’année, on recherche de plus en plus un moyen pour que chaque personne ait le contrôle de ses propres données et de son propre argent. Ce moyen devait être décentralisé et réduire la nécessité d’un intermédiaire, comme les banques, les courtiers ou les compagnies d’assurances. En tant que première technologie en son genre, la chaîne de blocs était révolutionnairei.
 
 
 
Bien que la technologie de la chaîne de blocs ait commencé à prendre de l’expansion depuis sa création, à ses débuts, les utilisateurs étaient exclusivement des particuliers. Il y a toujours des individus qui utilisent des cryptomonnaies comme le Bitcoin; toutefois, des entreprises comme Ethereum, Golem et Blockstack sont apparues et font également appel à la technologie de la chaîne de blocs pour la création de « contrats intelligents » entre des parties, le partage de la puissance de traitement des ordinateurs et le développement d’applications ouvertes, respectivement. Toutefois, la technologie est toujours considérée comme étant immature et sous­utilisée. Parmi les répondants au sondage mené par Gartner auprès des dirigeants principaux de l’information de 2018, seulement 1 % ont investi dans la technologie de la chaîne de blocs et déployé celle-ciii.
 
 
 
<h2>Sommaire technique</h2>
 
Les données et registres de transactions contenus dans une chaîne de blocs sont décentralisés, contrairement aux registres de transactions traditionnels, qui nécessitent souvent un intermédiaire comme une banque ou un autre administrateur et qui comportent la plupart du temps de multiples enregistrements d’une même transaction. Par exemple, dans le contexte d’un achat traditionnel, le consommateur a un
 
 
 
enregistrement de la transaction, tout comme le commerçant, le fournisseur et un vérificateur ou un comptable. La banque a également un enregistrement. Tous ces enregistrements sont conservés séparément. Le processus d’achat requiert donc que chacune des parties ait confiance que les autres parties ne modifieront ni ne perdront un enregistrement.
 
 
 
Dans une transaction dans la chaîne de blocs, chacune des parties concernées (appelées nœuds, utilisateurs ou mineurs) possède la même réplique d’un grand livre, qui est contenu dans la chaîne de blocs sur un réseau de pair à pair (ou de nœud à nœud). Ainsi, la banque et les bases de données traditionnelles de commerçants utilisées pour consigner et organiser les données dans le grand livre sont éliminées (p. ex., la date et l’heure de la transaction, le produit, l’acheteur).
 
 
 
Pour former un bloc ou une chaîne de blocs, chaque utilisateur a besoin d’un ordinateur spécialisé et d’un logiciel de minage. Une chaîne de blocs est gérée et vérifiée en collaboration sur un réseau auquel de multiples utilisateurs ou nœuds accèdent. Ces utilisateurs travaillent en collaboration et utilisent le minage et des « algorithmes de consensus » pour résoudre des problèmes mathématiques complexes. Un algorithme de consensus est un processus convenu de résolution de calculs, et plusieurs sont utilisés dans la technologie de la chaîne de blocs en fonction du type de calcul à résoudre et du type de données à vérifier.
 
 
 
En raison de sa nature décentralisée, ouverte et cryptographique, la chaîne de blocs permet aux personnes d’avoir confiance les unes envers les autres et de réaliser des transactions de pair à pair, ce qui élimine la nécessité des intermédiaires. Elle résiste aux attaques de piratage qui touchent les intermédiaires centralisés comme les banques parce que, pour réussir, l’attaquant doit pirater le bloc spécifique dans une chaîne ainsi que chacun des millions d’autres grands livres potentiels se trouvant sur le réseau en même temps. Une telle opération serait difficile, puisque les blocs sont sécurisés à l’aide de clés publiques et privées et doivent être vérifiés par de multiples utilisateurs et ordinateurs individuels. Même si cela était possible, l’attaquant devrait également mettre à jour toutes les transactions subséquentes de la chaîne et écraser toutes les autres copies du grand livre se trouvant sur le réseau pour assurer l’intégrité de la nouvelle chaîne.
 
 
 
Malgré la résistance naturelle aux attaques de la chaîne de blocs, la revue MIT Technology Review a signalé que de plus en plus de failles de sécurité apparaissent dans la cryptomonnaie et les plates­formes de contrats intelligents. Dans certains cas, les problèmes de sécurité sont au cœur de la conception des plates­formes. En obtenant le contrôle de la puissance de plus de la moitié des ordinateurs du réseau, un pirate a tenté de réécrire l’historique des transactions de la plate­forme d’échange de cryptomonnaie appelée Coinbase et de faire en sorte que la même cryptomonnaie puisse être dépensée plus d’une fois, pour une valeur totale de 1,1 million de dollarsiii.
 
 
 
<h2>Utilisation par l'industrie</h2>
 
L’utilisation la plus connue de la chaîne de blocs est liée aux cryptomonnaies, comme le Bitcoin. Cette monnaie numérique, lancée en 2009, ne fait pas appel à une autorité monétaire pour surveiller, vérifier ou approuver les transactions, mais se sert plutôt d’un réseau d’ordinateurs de pair à pair composé des appareils de ses utilisateurs pour le faire. La chaîne de blocs peut servir à toutes sortes d’opérations de coopération interorganisationnelles. En 2017, la revue Harvard Business Review a estimé que l’on s’attend à ce qu’environ 15 % des banques utilisent la chaîne de blocsiv.
 
 
 
Même si le Bitcoin est la première et plus populaire technologie de chaîne de blocs, il ne s’agit que de l’une des quelque 700 applications qui utilisent le système de grand livre distribué au moyen de la chaîne de blocs. La chaîne de blocs est un grand livre numérique à partir duquel les organisations peuvent construire des applications dignes de confiance, par l’intermédiaire d’une chaîne de possession sécurisée pour les registres numériques.
 
 
 
<h2>Utilisation par le gouvernement du Canada</h2>
 
Actuellement, le Canada n’a pas de politique fédérale sur la chaîne de blocs. Bien qu’il s’agisse d’une importante technologie émergente, la manière dont le gouvernement pourrait s’en servir reste à déterminer. À l’heure actuelle, l’utilisation idéale de la chaîne de blocs par le gouvernement du Canada consisterait en un système de registres publics permettant de consigner les transactions sécurisées effectuées par de multiples parties dans le but de distribuer une source unique de faits non réfutables.
 
 
 
Selon Gartner, aucun gouvernement du monde n’a mis en place une véritable initiative reposant sur la chaîne de blocs. Toutefois, certains (État de la Géorgie, Hong Kong, Émirats arabes unis) réalisent des pseudo­initiatives et commencent à expérimenter avec la technologiev. Les notes du Conseil du Trésor du Canada soulignent certaines initiatives spécifiques : l’Estonie mise sur un partenariat avec une fondation de cybersanté pour accélérer des systèmes fondés sur la chaîne de blocs afin d’assurer la sécurité, la transparence et la vérifiabilité des dossiers de soins de santé des patients. Singapour utilise la chaîne de blocs pour empêcher les négociateurs de frauder les banques, au moyen d’un système unique de grand livre distribué axé sur la prévention des fraudes par fausse facturevi.
 
 
 
En 2017, le rapport intitulé « The Blockchain Corridor: Building an Innovation Economy in the 2nd Era of the Internet » a été préparé; ce rapport traitait de façons de transformer le Canada en un centre mondial de « révolution de la chaîne de blocs ». Ce rapport, qui a été rédigé par un groupe de réflexion sur la haute technologie pour Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada et partiellement financé par ce ministère, présente quelques propositions pour confirmer la position du Canada en tant que leader mondial dans la technologie de la chaîne de blocs. Le gouvernement du
 
 
 
Canada a annoncé, en juillet 2017, son intention d’exécuter au moins six projets pilotes retenus portant sur l’utilisation de la chaîne de blocsvii.
 
 
 
Ces projets comprenaient l’établissement d’une commission sur l’économie numérique, qui se verra confier la tâche de formuler des recommandations solides sur la manière dont le Canada pourrait devenir un leader dans les technologies en développement comme la chaîne de blocs, l’informatique quantique, l’intelligence artificielle et les véhicules autonomes. Il est également recommandé d’inciter les gouvernements qui utilisent actuellement la chaîne de blocs à transformer leurs propres opérations et à donner des exemples de la manière dont cette technologie pourrait être bénéfique pour le secteur public du Canada et d’ailleurs dans le monde. Les gouvernements pourraient utiliser la chaîne de blocs afin de vérifier le paiement des impôts et gérer plus efficacement les services publics.
 
 
 
<h2>Répercussions pour les agences gouvernementales</h2>
 
<h3>Services partagés Canada (SPC)</h3>
 
 
 
<h4>Proposition de valeur</h4>
 
Les technologies de collaboration comme la chaîne de blocs promettent la capacité d’améliorer les processus opérationnels qui s’exécutent entre les organisations et les entités et de diminuer de manière radicale le « coût de la confiance ». La chaîne de blocs pourrait donc offrir un rendement beaucoup plus élevé pour chaque dollar investi que les investissements internes traditionnels, mais elle nécessite la mise en place de nouvelles façons de collaborer avec les clients, les citoyens, les fournisseurs et les concurrentsviii.
 
 
 
La chaîne de blocs offre certains avantages au gouvernement du Canada, comme une réduction des coûts et de la complexité, une tenue de documents digne de confiance et un contrôle de la confidentialité axé sur les utilisateurs. Elle offre de grandes possibilités du point de vue d’une source unique de registres publics et du soutien de multiples collaborateurs et représente une technologie idéale pour les interactions plurigouvernementales. En raison de sa nature décentralisée et collaborative, elle pourrait bien s’harmoniser aux politiques et pratiques d’un gouvernement ouvert, qui visent à rendre les services, les données et les dossiers numériques du gouvernement plus accessibles aux Canadiens.
 
 
 
En éliminant le dédoublement et en réduisant le besoin d’intermédiaires, la technologie de la chaîne de blocs pourrait être utilisée par Services partagés Canada (SPC) pour accélérer certains aspects de la prestation de services. En ce qui concerne la chaîne de blocs, SPC devra relever un défi, celui de déterminer les meilleures solutions d’entreprise et comment elles traitent des aspects de la vie privée, de la confidentialité, de la vérifiabilité, du rendement et de l’adaptabilité.
 
  
Actuellement, certains organismes du gouvernement utilisent la chaîne de blocs de diverses façons. SPC pourrait peut­être appuyer les ministères et organismes suivants dans leurs initiatives visant à établir la manière d’utiliser la chaîne de blocs pour aider à régler certains enjeux :
+
  div>a>img {
 +
    width: 100%;
 +
    height: auto;
 +
  }
  
Élections Canada – Applications pratiques pour faciliter la gestion de la liste électorale, la gestion sécurisée de l’identité et la gestion de la géographie électorale.
+
  #firstHeading::after{
 +
  content:"Blockchain";
 +
  }
  
Centre d’analyse des opérations et déclarations financières du Canada – Explorer les utilisations liées au financement de la lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent et le terrorisme.
+
  /* PC Formatting */
  
Sécurité publique Canada – Se pencher sur des utilisations diverses et à mauvais escient des monnaies virtuelles, à des fins d’extorsion ou de chantage, par exemple.
+
  .sidetable{ float: right; width: 25%; cursor: auto; text-align: center;}
 +
  .wikitable{ margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;  }
 +
  .logo{  text-align: center; }
 +
  .disclaimer{  border: 1px solid red;  background-color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.3); }
  
Ressources naturelles Canada – Utiliser en tant que registre public pour la divulgation des paiements en vertu de la Loi sur les mesures de transparence dans le secteur extractif.
+
  .breadcrumb{
 +
    background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250);
 +
    border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177);
 +
  }
 +
  .breadcrumb-table{  margin: auto; }
  
Banque du Canada – Envisager un modèle de validation de principe avec Paiements Canada, les banques commerciales canadiennes et le consortium R3.
+
  .expand{  background-color: rgba(242, 109, 33, 0.2); }
 +
  .mw-collapsible-text{ text-align:left;  }
 +
  .inline{  display: inline; }
 +
  .inline-spacer{ display: block; }
  
Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada – Mobilisation des ministères fédéraux, des partenaires provinciaux, territoriaux et municipaux et des principaux acteurs de l’industrie.
+
  .btn {
 +
  display: inline-block;
 +
  margin-bottom: 0;
 +
  font-weight: 400;
 +
  text-align: center;
 +
  white-space: nowrap;
 +
  vertical-align: middle;
 +
  -ms-touch-action: manipulation;
 +
  touch-action: manipulation;
 +
  cursor: pointer;
 +
  background-image: none;
 +
  border: 1px solid transparent;
 +
  padding: 6px 12px;
 +
  font-size: 14px;
 +
  line-height: 1.42857143;
 +
  border-radius: 4px;
 +
  -webkit-user-select: none;
 +
  -moz-user-select: none;
 +
  -ms-user-select: none;
 +
  user-select: none;
  
<h4>Difficultés</h4>
+
    width: 230px;
Il existe des faiblesses en ce qui concerne la complexité de la technologie, des exigences informatiques et de stockage intensives ainsi qu’un besoin de logiciel commun à tous les nœuds. Il existe également des difficultés particulièrement importantes propres à un processus gouvernemental. Les actifs entièrement numériques dont il n’existe qu’une seule copie peuvent être détruits, et un réseau gouvernemental comportant de tels actifs serait une cible très en vue pour des auteurs malveillants ix.
+
    color: rgba(242, 109, 33, 1);
 +
  background-color: rgba(242, 109, 33, 0.1);
 +
  border-color: rgba(242, 109, 33, 1);
 +
    text-decoration: none;
 +
  }
  
Il est important de se rappeler que la chaîne de blocs, même si elle constitue une innovation technologique dans le domaine des transactions ainsi qu’une chaîne de possession numérique, n’est pas une solution miracle aux difficultés en matière de transactions auxquelles le gouvernement du Canada est confronté.
+
  .btn:hover {
 +
  color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);
 +
  background-color: rgba(242, 109, 33, 1);
 +
    text-decoration: none;
 +
  }
  
La quantité de temps et d’énergie requise pour maintenir la chaîne de blocs et créer de nouveaux blocs est élevée, et il s’agit d’une critique fréquente à l’égard de cette technologie. Il ne faut que quelques millisecondes pour faire une entrée dans une base de données conventionnelle, comme SQL, comparativement à la chaîne de blocs, qui nécessite plusieurs minutes. En raison du temps requis et du besoin de multiples
+
  .hypecycle {
 +
    width: 80%;
 +
    margin: auto;
 +
  }
  
ordinateurs pour vérifier les blocs, les chaînes de blocs consomment une quantité d’énergie énorme. Toutefois, à mesure que la technologie évolue, le temps nécessaire au processus de consensus de la chaîne de blocs se rapproche des trois minutes avec Ethereum, qui fait actuellement partie des chaînes de blocs les plus avancées disponibles. Même les chaînes de blocs plus anciennes, comme Bitcoin, sont plus rapides que les transactions financières traditionnelles, comme celles du marché boursier, dont la vérification et la finalisation peuvent prendre plusieurs jours. Malgré cela, les services ou transactions devant être exécutés rapidement pourraient ne pas convenir à la chaîne de blocs.
+
  .container{
 +
    width: 100%;
 +
    display: block;
 +
  }
  
Il y a aussi certaines préoccupations relatives à la confidentialité. Puisque la chaîne de blocs est fondée sur le principe de la décentralisation et de la transparence, les données qui s’y trouvent sont techniquement accessibles à tous les utilisateurs du réseau, à condition qu’ils possèdent la puissance informatique et les connaissances nécessaires pour y accéder. Au lieu d’être identifiés sur le réseau par un nom, les utilisateurs ont une clé de chiffrage, qui est une suite de chiffres et de lettres en apparence aléatoire. Bien qu’il s’agisse d’une méthode plus privée qu’un nom ou une autre information démographique, les utilisateurs pourraient tout de même être identifiés par leur clé au fil du temps. De plus, un élément de données contenu dans un bloc pouvant comporter des renseignements personnels qu’une personne souhaite garder confidentiels, par exemple un dossier médical, pourrait ne pas convenir à la chaîne de blocs, puisque celle­ci est transparente et que les renseignements seront visibles pour les autres utilisateursx.
+
  .row{
 +
    width: 100%;
 +
    display: table;
 +
  content: " ";
 +
  }
  
<h4>Considérations</h4>
+
  .col-sm-8{
En utilisant un algorithme de consensus convenu, les technologies de collaboration comme la chaîne de blocs fournissent la capacité d’améliorer les processus opérationnels qui s’exécutent entre les organisations et entités et de diminuer de manière radicale le « coût de la confiance ». Le coût de la confiance est diminué parce qu’il n’y a qu’un seul enregistrement de la transaction qui doit être conservé et que tous les intervenants ont confiance en cet enregistrement.
+
    width: 66.6666666666%;
 +
    float:left;
 +
  }
  
Dans une transaction traditionnelle, tous les intervenants doivent conserver un enregistrement de la transaction et, dans le cas d’un écart, il est plus difficile et coûteux de déterminer l’exactitude d’un enregistrement. Ainsi, la chaîne de blocs pourrait offrir un rendement beaucoup plus élevé pour chaque dollar investi que les investissements internes traditionnels. Toutefois, cette technologie nécessite la mise en place de nouvelles façons de collaborer avec les clients, les citoyens, les fournisseurs et les concurrentsxi.
+
  .col-sm-4{
 +
    width: 33.33333333333%;
 +
    float:left;
 +
  }
  
Il faut réaliser plus de recherches pour comprendre les répercussions potentielles de la chaîne de blocs sur SPC en tant que fournisseur de services ainsi que sur l’usage requis par le gouvernement du Canada. SPC devrait envisager de cerner les secteurs clients où la chaîne de blocs pourrait être utilisée. Les ministères clients pourraient devoir cibler
+
  .hypecycleTable{
 +
    width: 100%;
 +
  }
  
eux­mêmes les secteurs dans lesquels les processus de la chaîne de blocs pourraient être utiles. Il sera difficile pour SPC de cerner les organisations partenaires et solutions d’entreprise qui nécessitent la tenue de projets pilotes prioritaires sur la chaîne de blocs et d’être en mesure de déterminer les ministères qui sont des chefs de file et la manière dont ils composent avec les questions de vie privée, de confidentialité, de vérifiabilité, de rendement et d’adaptabilité.
+
  /* Mobile Formatting */
 +
  @media (max-width: 992px){
 +
    .sidetable{ width: 80%; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
  
Enfin, SPC et le gouvernement du Canada devraient examiner les problèmes de capacités relatifs aux ressources, les capacités du réseau et le temps requis pour créer et maintenir des réseaux de chaînes de blocs par eux­mêmes. La chaîne de blocs n’est pas une technologie simple; il faudra des équipes spécialisées qui possèdent les ressources et le financement appropriés pour que cette technologie soit déployée comme tout autre service. SPC pourrait envisager de faire appel à des entreprises du secteur privé qui se spécialisent dans la chaîne de blocs en tant que service(BaaS ou Blocks as a Service) et déterminer les risques et les avantages sur le plan des coûts associés à l’externalisation de ce processus.
+
    .container{
 +
      display: block;
 +
      clear: both;
 +
    }
  
 +
    .col-sm-8,
 +
    .col-sm-6,
 +
    .col-sm-4{
 +
      display: block;
 +
      width: 100%;
 +
      clear: both;
 +
      margin: auto;
 +
    }
 +
  }
 +
  @media (max-width: 600px){
 +
    .sidetable{ width: 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;}
 +
  }
  
</multilang>
+
}}

Latest revision as of 11:48, 25 November 2019


Status Published
Initial release May 23, 2019
Latest version November 25, 2019
Official publication Blockchain.pdf
Traffic cone.png This page is a work in progress. We welcome your feedback. Please use the discussion page for suggestions and comments. When the page is approved and finalized, we will send it for translation.

Blockchain is a list of digital records (called blocks) that are securely linked together to form a chain using secure encryption and time stamps. Blockchains form a digital ledger, which is a history of transaction records that can be accessed by multiple users but cannot be individually modified.

Hide Detailed View


Business Brief

The theory behind blockchain was first described in 1991. The desire was to create a system in which documents could be timestamped and linked together digitally or cryptographically. In 2008, someone or a group of people, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, created the first cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. The creation of Bitcoin in 2008 also unveiled the technology behind it - Blockchain. Blockchain provides the means for recording bitcoin transactions (as a shared ledger), which can be used to record any transaction and track the movement of any asset that is tangible, intangible or digital.

Due to increasing mistrust around data sharing by some large corporations, as well as the financial crisis earlier that year, there was a growing desire for a means in which personal data or currency could be held individually. It needed to be decentralized and needed to reduce the requirement for middlemen, such as banks, brokers, or insurance companies. As the first of its kind, blockchain technology was revolutionary.[1]

While blockchain technology has begun to expand since its creation, when it first began, users were exclusively individuals. While individual uses involving cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin are still in existence, companies such as Ethereum, Golem, and Blockstack have since emerged and also employ blockchain technology for the rendering of “smart contracts” between individual parties, the sharing of computer processing power and open-source app development respectively. However, the technology is still deemed immature and underutilized.

Of the respondents to Gartner’s 2018 CIO Survey, only 1% have invested in and deployed blockchain technology.[2]

Technology Brief

In contrast to traditional records of transactions, which often require an intermediary such as a bank or other administrator, and involve multiple records of the same transaction, the data or transaction records contained within a blockchain are decentralized. For example, in a traditional purchase, a consumer would have a record, the merchant would have a record, a supplier would have a record, and an auditor or accountant would have a record. The bank would also have a record. All of these records are kept separately. Therefore, this process requires a great deal of trust between the individual parties that one record will not be tampered with or lost.

With a blockchain transaction, each of the parties involved (called nodes, users or miners), all have the same replica of a ledger, which is contained in the blockchain on a peer-to-peer (or node-to-node) network. As a result, the bank and the traditional merchant databases traditionally used to record and organize the data in ledger would be eliminated (i.e. transaction time and date, product, buyer).

In order to form a block or a blockchain, each user requires a specialized computer and mining software. A blockchain is managed and verified collaboratively on a network accessed by multiple users or nodes. These users work collaboratively and use mining and “consensus algorithms” to solve complex mathematical problems. A consensus algorithm is an agreed-upon process for solving calculations and there are several used in blockchain technology depending on the type of calculation to be solved and the type of data to be verified.

Blockchain’s decentralized, open and cryptographic nature allows people to trust each other and perform perform peer to peer transactions, which removes the need for intermediaries. It is resistant to hacking attacks that impact centralized intermediaries like banks because to succeed, an attacker would need to hack both the specific block in a blockchain as well as every one of the other potentially million ledgers in the network simultaneously.

This would be a difficult endeavor given that the blocks are secured with both public and private keys and require verification by multiple individual users and computers. Even if it were possible, they would also need to update every subsequent transaction in the chain and overwrite every other copy of the ledger in the network to ensure integrity of the new chain.

Despite this natural resistance to attacks, it was reported in the MIT Technology Review that security holes are increasingly appearing in cryptocurrency and smart contract platforms. In some cases, the security issues are fundamental to the way the platforms were built.

By gaining control of more than half of the network’s computer power, a hacker was attempting to rewrite the transaction history of the exchange platform for cryptocurrency called Coinbase, allowing for the same cryptocurrency to be spent more than once to a total value of $1.1 million.[3]

Industry Usage

The most well-known use of blockchain is in support of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. A digital currency launched in 2009, Bitcoin does not rely on a monetary authority to monitor verify or approve transactions, but rather relies on a peer-to-peer computer network made up of its users’ machines to do that. Blockchain can be used for all sorts of inter-organizational cooperation. In 2017, Harvard Business Review estimated that approximately 15% of banks are expected to be using blockchain.[4]

Although Bitcoin is the first and most well-known use of the blockchain technology, it is only one of about seven hundred applications that use the blockchain distributed ledger system. Blockchain is a digital ledger on top of which organizations can build trusted applications, via a secure chain of custody for digital records.

Canadian Government Use

Canada does not currently have a federal policy on blockchain. While blockchain is an important emerging technology, how it could be used by the Government remains to be seen. At this point, the ideal GC use case for blockchain would be a system of public record to register secure transactions from multiple contributors toward distributing a single source of truth in a non-refutable fashion.

According to Gartner, there is no Government around the world that is operating a true blockchain initiative , although some (State of Georgia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirate) are operating pseudo-initiatives and starting to experiment with the technology.[5] Treasury Board of Canada notes highlights a few specific initiatives: Estonia uses an eHealth Foundation partnership to accelerate blockchain-based systems to ensure security, transparency, and auditability of patient healthcare records. Singapore employs the use of blockchain to prevent traders from defrauding banks through a unique distributed ledger-based system focused on preventing invoice fraud.[6]

In 2017, “The Blockchain Corridor: Building an Innovation Economy in the 2nd Era of the Internet” was developed, discussing ways to turn Canada into a global hub for the “Blockchain revolution.” Written by a high-tech think tank and prepared for / partially funded by the federal Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), the report lays out a few proposals regarding how to cement Canada’s role as a world leader in blockchain technology. The Canadian Government announced in July 2017 the intention to run at least 6 select pilot projects on the use of blockchain.[7]

This included establishing a digital economy commission, which will be tasked with developing solid recommendations regarding how Canada can become a leader in developing technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles. It also recommended getting governments currently using blockchain to transform their own operations and provide examples of how the technology can benefit public sectors in Canada and abroad. Governments could use blockchain to verify the payment of taxes and manage public services more efficiently.

Implications for Government Agencies

Shared Services Canada (SSC)

Value Proposition

Collaborative technologies like blockchain promise the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” As a result, blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments, but in doing so means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.[8]

Blockchain offers a numbers of benefits to the Government of Canada, such as a reduction in costs and complexity, trusted record keeping and user-centric privacy control. It offers significant opportunities in terms of a single source for public records, support for multiple contributors and a technology ideal for multi-jurisdictional interactions. Due to its decentralized, collaborative nature, it potentially aligns well with policies and practices around Open Government, which aim to make Government services, data, and digital records more accessible to Canadians.

By eliminating the duplication and reducing the need for intermediaries, blockchain technology could be used by SSC to speed-up aspects of service delivery. A challenge for SSC in terms of blockchain will be to identify which enterprise solutions emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.

Currently, a number of Government agencies are engaged in Blockchain in a number of ways. Maybe SSC could support the following departments in their initiatives to explore how Blockchain can help solve these issues:

  • Elections Canada – practical applications to support Voter List Management, Secure Identity Management, and management of electoral geography.
  • Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada – exploring implications for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
  • Public Safety Canada – focused on various uses and misuses of virtual currencies, such as extortion or blackmail.
  • Natural Resources Canada – use as a public registry for the disclosure of payments under the Extractive Sectors Transparency Measures Act.
  • Bank of Canada – exploring a proof of concept model alongside Payments Canada, Canadian commercial banks and the R3 consortium.
  • ISED – engagement with Government departments, provincial-territorial-municipal partners, and key industry players.

Challenges

There are weaknesses in terms of technological complexity, intensive computational and storage demands and a requirement for common software across all nodes. There are significant challenges particularly important within a governmental process. Truly digital assets with a single copy can be destroyed and a government network housing such assets would represent a very public target for malicious actors.[9]

It is important to remember that Blockchain, while a technological innovation in transactional business and chain of digital custody, is not a single solution to transactional challenges facing the GC.

The amount of time and energy required to maintain the blockchain and create new blocks is not small and this is a frequent criticism of the technology. Conventional database entry, such as using SQL, takes only milliseconds, compared to blockchain, which takes several minutes. Due to the length of time required as well as the need for multiple computers to verify the blocks, blockchains consume an enormous amount of energy.

However, as technology advances, the blockchain consensus process takes closer to three minutes with Ethereum, which is currently among the most advanced blockchains available.xxiii Even older blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are still faster than traditional financial transactions, such as the stock exchange, which can take days to be verified and finalized. Despite this, services or transactions that require rapid speed, may not be suitable for blockchain.

There are also some concerns with respect to privacy. Since blockchain is built on the premise of decentralization and transparency, the data within the chain is technically available for anyone on the network, provided they have the computational power and knowledge to gain access. Instead of being identified on the network by name, users have encryption keys, which is a list of seemingly random numbers and letters.

While more private than a name or other demographic information, users could still be identified by their keys over time. Also, any data contained within a block that may have personal information that an individual wishes to keep private, such as medical records for example, may not be well suited for a blockchain as it will be transparent and visible to other users.[10]

Considerations

By using an agreed upon consensus algorithm, collaborative technology like Blockchain promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between organizations and entities, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” The cost of trust is lowered because there is only one record of a transaction that needs to be kept and all stakeholders trust that record.

In a traditional transaction, all stakeholders have to keep a record of the transaction and in the case of a discrepancy, it was more difficult / costly to determine the accuracy of a record. As a result, Blockchain may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than that of traditional internal investments. However, to doing so, it means collaborating with customers, citizens, suppliers and competitors in new ways.[11]

Further research is needed to understand the potential impacts that blockchain could have on SSC as a service provider as well on the usage amounts the GC would require. SSC should consider the identification of client areas where blockchain may be leveraged. It may be required that client departments self-identify spaces which could benefit from blockchain processes.

A challenge for SSC will be to identify which partner organizations and enterprise solutions require priority blockchain pilot projects as well as be able to identify departments that emerge as leaders and how they deal with privacy, confidentiality, auditability, performance and scalability.

Lastly, SSC and the GC should consider the capacity issues in resources, network capabilities, and time required to create and maintain blockchain networks on its own. Blockchain is not a pedestrian technology, it will require dedicated teams that are appropriately resourced and financed in order for the technology to be deployed as any other service. SSC may wish to consider looking for private sector companies that specialize in providing Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), and determine the risk and cost benefits of outsourcing this process altogether.

Hype Cycle

English Français
Expectations Attentes
Time Temps
Blockchain Wallet Platform Plate-forme de portefeuille de la chaîne de blocs
Blockchain Interoperability Interopérabilité de la chaîne de blocs
Postquantum Blockchain Chaîne de blocs post-quantique
Smart Contract Oracle Oracle des contrats intelligents
Zero Knowledge Proofs Preuve à divulgation nulle de connaissance
Distributed Storage in Blockchain Stockage distribué dans la chaîne de blocs
Smart Contracts Contrats intelligents
Blockchain for IAM Chaîne de blocs pour la gestion des identités et de l’accès
Blockchain PaaS Chaîne de blocs à titre de PaaS
Blockchain for Data Security Chaîne de blocs pour la sécurité des données
Decentralized Applications Applications décentralisées
Consensus Mechanisms Mécanismes de consensus
Metacoin Platforms Plates-formes de Metacoin
Sidechains/Channels Chaînes latérales/canaux
Multiparty Computing Calcul multipartite
Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallets Portefeuilles matériels de cryptomonnaie
Cryptocurrency Software Wallets Portefeuilles logiciels de cryptomonnaie
Blockchain Chaîne de blocs
Distributed Ledgers Grands livres distribués
Cryptocurrency Mining Minage de cryptomonnaie
Innovation Trigger Déclencheur d’innovation
Peak of Inflated Exepctations Pic des attentes exagérées
Trough of Disillusionment Gouffre des désillusions
Slope of Enlightenment Pente de l’illumination
Plateau of Productivity Plateau de productivité
As of July 2018 En date de juillet 2018
Plateau will be reached: Le plateau sera atteint :
Less than 2 years dans moins de 2 ans
2 to 5 years dans 2 à 5 ans
5 to 10 years dans 5 à 10 ans
More than 10 years dans plus de 10 ans
Obsolete before plateau Désuet avant le plateau
Source: Gartner (July 2018) Source : Gartner (juillet 2018)

References


  1. Gilder, G. (2018). Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy. New Jersey: Gateway Editions.
  2. Furlonger, D., & Kandaswamy, R. (25 July 2018). Hype Cycle for Blockchain Technologies. Retrieved on 23 May 2019
  3. Orcutt, M. (19 February 2019). Once hailed as unhackable, blockchains are now getting hacked. Retrieved on 23 May 2019
  4. Gupta, V. (28 February 2017). A Brief History of Blockchain. Retrieved on 23 May 2019
  5. Gartner conference call.
  6. Treasury Board of Canada
  7. Secretariat, T. B. (29 March 2019). Digital Operations Strategic Plan: 2018-2022. Retrieved on 23 May 2019
  8. Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5.
  9. Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). [Vallée, J.-C. L. (April 2018). Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services. Retrieved on 23 May 2019 Adopting Blockchain to Improve Canadian Government Digital Services]. Retrieved on 23 May 2019
  10. Diedrich, H. (2016). Ethereum: Blockchains, Digital Assets, Smart Contracts, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Scotts Valley: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
  11. Treasury Board of Canada, Blockchain: Ideal Use Cases for the Government of Canada, 5.