In today’s extremely digitalized world, where more and more spheres of human life are being transferred into information and communication-based technologies, security becomes an imperative issue. People’s whole identity is uploaded on the internet. Administrative information, personal and delicate information, and even financial information and assets. A person’s integrity can be put into jeopardy without even being physically close to it. As governments and administrations follow a similar path, cybersecurity becomes ever more important. Data leaks, as in the case of Wikileaks, can undermine a governments credibility and compromise national security. An actual intelligence war is being fought online where intelligence services try to breach each other. China faces accusations of trying to hack and steal COVID-19 vaccine research; and Russia’s hackers interfered with the 2016 US presidential elections. Therefore, blockchain technology becomes an interesting option to improve security in digital processes. As authors Farah and Prityi accurately point out, however, we must guard against being over optimistic, as well-intentioned technologies have been frequently used for illicit purposes. In their article ‘Public Administration in the Age of Globalization and Emerging Technologies: From Theories to Practice’, the authors offer examples, such as money washing and terrorist group financing with cryptocurrencies. To this I propose we add scams with fraudulent cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, after a decade and some successful uses of this technology seen in Estonia and Finland, I believe it is necessary to establish regulations and implementation programs in public administration, especially in the field of cryptocurrencies, as they have become increasingly relevant as years pass. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bitcoin turned to be a sort of haven for financial assets as uncertainty plagued the international markets. Successful integration and regulation of blockchain technology-based currencies could facilitate the emergence of projects that aim towards sustainable development and, also, provide a strong tool to fight tax evasion.
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