https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/30/blockchain_study_finds_0_per_cent_success_rate/ The Register(r) -- Biting the hand that feeds IT search [ ] # # Sign in Off-Prem All Off-PremEdge + IoTChannelPaaS + IaaSSaaS (X) On-Prem All On-PremServersStorageNetworksHPCPersonal Tech (X) Software All SoftwareAI + MLApplicationsDatabasesDevOpsOSesVirtualization (X) SecurityOffbeat All OffbeatDebatesColumnistsScienceGeek's GuideBOFHLegalBootnotesSite NewsAbout Us (X) Vendor Voice AdobeGoogle CloudNutanixRapid7Red hatSophosVeeam (X) # # # [science] Science Blockchain study finds 0.00% success rate and vendors don't call back when asked for evidence Where is your distributed ledger technology now? Andrew Orlowski Fri 30 Nov 2018 // 11:56 UTC Share reddit Twitter Facebook linkedin WhatsApp email [https://www.theregis] Copy --------------------------------------------------------------------- Though Blockchain has been touted as the answer to everything, a study of 43 solutions advanced in the international development sector has found exactly no evidence of success. Three practitioners including erstwhile blockchain enthusiast John Burg, a Fellow at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), looked at instances of the distributed crypto ledger being used in a wide range of situations by NGOs, contractors and agencies. But they drew a complete blank. [science] "We found a proliferation of press releases, white papers, and persuasively written articles," Burg et al wrote on Thursday. "However, we found no documentation or evidence of the results blockchain was purported to have achieved in these claims. We also did not find lessons learned or practical insights, as are available for other technologies in development." Blockchain vendors were keen to puff the merits of the technology, but when the three asked for proof of success in the field, it all went very quiet. [science] Containers in port IBM struggles to sign up shipping carriers to blockchain supply chain platform - reports READ MORE "We fared no better when we reached out directly to several blockchain firms, via email, phone, and in person. Not one was willing to share data on program results, MERL [monitoring, evaluation, research and learning] processes, or adaptive management for potential scale-up. Despite all the hype about how blockchain will bring unheralded transparency to processes and operations in low-trust environments, the industry is itself opaque." Burg was an enthusiastic advocate for blockchain until recently - as he explained in this Medium post. "Blockchain is like a loom that can weave together multiple strands of separate things... into an integrated fabric where you can see what the data means and adjust resources in response," he swooned. Blockchain has been wildly mis-sold, but underneath it is a database with performance and scalability issues and a lot of baggage. Any claim made for blockchain could be made for databases, or simply publishing contractual or transactional data gathered in another form. Its adoption by non-technical advocates is faith-based, with vendors' and consultants' claims being taken at face value, as Eddie Hughes MP (Con, Walsall North) cheerfully confessed to the FT recently. "I'm just a Brummie bloke who kept hearing about blockchain, read a bit about it, and thought: this is interesting stuff. So I came up with this idea: blockchain for Bloxwich," said Hughes. As with every bubble, whether it's Tulip Mania or the Californian Gold Rush, most investors lose their shirts while a fortune is being made by associated services - the advisors and marketeers can bank their cash, even if there's no gold in the river. For example, Fujitsu offers fast-track consulting services starting at PS9,900 to tell you if blockchain is appropriate for your project (that's something we can confidently tell you for nothing: no, it isn't). And the magic B-word enabled doomed tech quango Digital Catapult to conduct a Houdini-like escape. Now that's magic. A modest proposal Perhaps technology consultancy and marketing should be as tightly regulated as financial consultancy, where mis-selling can (in theory) lead to a lifetime ban from the industry, something the US Securities and Exchange Commission can do for people who violate securities law, like Michael Milken. [science] Surely if you hype "blockchain" or "artificial intelligence" (this report details a 95 per cent failure rate at Monsanto) and it was never going to work well, surely that's indistinguishable from fraud. A graduated series of penalties ranging from a five-year ban to a lifetime ban could then be imposed. (r) Get our Tech Resources Corrections Send us news 89 Comments reddit Twitter Facebook linkedin WhatsApp email Get our Weekly newsletter [science] Most Read 1. Brave buys a search engine, promises no tracking, no profiling - and may even offer a paid-for, no-ad version 2. Qualys hit with ransomware: Customer invoices leaked on extortionists' Tor blog 3. Microsoft fixes four zero-day flaws in Exchange Server exploited by China's 'Hafnium' spies to steal victims' data 4. Hacking is not a crime - and the media should stop using 'hacker' as a pejorative 5. What happens when cancel culture meets Adolf Hitler pareidolia? Amazon decides it needs a new app icon [science] --------------------------------------------------------------------- [science] Keep Reading Singapore reveals open-source blockchain COVID-test result tracker, eyes uses as vaccine passport app Tech already used to verify university degrees, will soon be compulsory at the border VMware's launched a blockchain that may be very good. The packaging it's used is more important Gather 'round, Blockheads, so we can explain this thing called a 'virtual machine' and why it matters India explores blockchain-powered voting but not to enable online elections Verifying wandering voters in the world's largest and most complex elections is the aim Cambodia launches blockchain-powered peer-to-peer payments, hopes it crushes cash Kind-of digital currency can shift US Dollars or the Cambodian Riel Got a problem with trust in AI? Just add blockchain, Forrester urges. Then bust out the holographic meetings. Welcome to the future It takes 'grit' to send in a holograph to meetings instead of struggling with mute buttons yourself... Take your pick: 'Hack-proof' blockchain-powered padlock defeated by Bluetooth replay attack or 1kg lump hammer You can do it the easy way or the easier way Singapore-sponsored finance blockchain ready to run international payments, say financial heavies 'Project Ubin' might be faster and cheaper than current tools, even for central banks Blockchain is a lot like teen sex: Everybody talks about it, no one has a clue how to do it Still a solution looking for a problem? Seems that way Tech Resources [whitep] 5 Things To Consider When Choosing An APM Tool The goal: to reach a state of observability where the whole picture is detailed and constantly up-to-date -- with monitoring and alerts that take it all into consideration. [whitep] The Role of Machine Learning and Automation in Storage There has been lots of hype around the increasing role that machine learning, and artificial intelligence more broadly, will play in how we automate the management of IT systems. [whitep] Rethink What's Possible Computer vision and image processing algorithms are increasingly common to commercial and research-related applications. These high resolution models perform complex computations to process image data in real-time and require rapid processing to yield analysis and results. [whitep] How to Get Started with Vulnerability Risk Management So, where exactly do you start rebuilding your VRM program and strategy? Our Advisory Services team has outlined six steps and best practices to help you hit the ground running. 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