Sec. 280. Briefing and report on use of distributed ledger technology for defense purposes
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Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the potential use of distributed ledger technology for defense purposes. This briefing under paragraph
(1)shall include— an explanation of how distributed ledger technology may be used by the Department of Defense to— improve cybersecurity, beginning at the hardware level, of vulnerable assets such as energy, water, and transport grids through distributed versus centralized computing; reduce single points of failure in emergency and catastrophe decision-making by subjecting decisions to consensus validation through distributed ledger technologies; improve the efficiency of defense logistics and supply chain operations; enhance the transparency of procurement auditing; and allow innovations to be adapted by the private sector for ancillary uses; and any other information that the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering determines to be appropriate. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the research, development, and use of distributed ledger technologies for defense purposes. The report under paragraph
(1)shall include— a summary of the key points from the briefing provided under subsection (a); an analysis of activities that other countries, including the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, are carrying out with respect to the research and development of distributed ledger technologies, including estimates of the types and amounts of resources directed by such countries to such activities; recommendations identifying additional research and development activities relating to distributed ledger technologies that should be carried out by the Department of Defense and cost estimates for such activities; and an analysis of the potential benefits of— consolidating research on distributed ledger technologies within the Department; and developing within the Department a single hub or center of excellence for research on distributed ledger technologies; and any other information that the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering determines to be appropriate.