Blockchain and critical infrastructures - challenges and opportunities

Critical infrastructures are vital sociotechnical systems whose destruction or disruption would have a significant impact on the functioning of society on multiple levels. Blockchain or distributed ledger technology is a fast-growing technique for disintermediating transactions and exchanges of information in the absence of trust. It is likely that blockchain will eventually be used not only in novelty applications, but also in systemically important critical infrastructures. This article suggests that the obvious advantages that will compel the adoption of blockchain are also accompanied by significant disadvantages and sketches some of the resulting issues. A particular case study is done for SCADA systems.