Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and International Security
A key challenge of law enforcement has always been to make sure that crime never pays, at least not well. When law enforcement could not succeed at monitoring and preventing crime and even if there were no smoking gun tipping off who committed a particular crime, the high card was always their ability to track down criminals. Usually the best way to do that was to heed the admonition of skilled investigators everywhere—follow the money. Fast forward to today as new forms of digital money are now making the money harder and potentially in near future impossible to follow. The counter-crime implications of these developments are already apparent and significant international security implications are becoming apparent. This paper will analyze the challenges cryptocurrencies pose to governments and the opportunities that blockchain might offer to improve security.
Sean Costigan
Sean S. Costigan is the Director of ITL Security and a Professor at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. He is an expert in emerging security challenges and a sought after speaker on matters of technology, national security and foresight. His current research and teaching is on the nexus of cybersecurity and state policies. He is the lead author of NATO’s cybersecurity curriculum and is widely published in national security matters relating to information security and hybrid threats.In addition to his work for the Marshall Center, he is presently serving as the Senior Adviser to the NATO/PfPC Emerging Security Challenges Study Group, where he heads cybersecurity education efforts; Publisher of Defense Press; Senior Associate at
the Security Governance Group, and an Associate at the consultancies of Vision
Foresight Strategy and i-Intelligence.
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