NUCLEAR MATERIALSBlockchain Could Be Key to Nuclear Material Safeguards
Many countries still rely on paper-based systems to keep track of transactions involving nuclear material? The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is keen to improve the nuclear safeguards which track all fissile nuclear material which could potentially go into undeclared weapons programs and be used to make bombs. Experts propose a new shared ledger system to improve monitoring of nuclear materials.
Did you know that many countries still rely on paper-based systems to keep track of transactions involving nuclear material?
While that’s not the case in Australia, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is keen to improve the nuclear safeguards which track all fissile nuclear material which could potentially go into undeclared weapons programs and be used to make bombs.
The IAEA reports to the United Nations and assists member States in the peaceful, safe use of nuclear power while preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Currently, each member State of the IAEA has its own regulator which must fulfil reporting requirements regarding nuclear material. This reporting provides evidence that a country’s nuclear activities match their stated intent, as well as assisting the IAEA to conduct inspections to verify this.
As more and more record keeping shifts into electronic systems, driven by the ongoing pressures of efficiency and fixed budget allocations in governments and at the IAEA, it becomes potentially easier to rewrite or modify past records when the physical archives are replaced.
This increases the need for auditability, combined with information security and efficiency. Continuous innovation in nuclear safeguards is essential to the mission of the IAEA, and the national regulators who contribute to its vital work.
Therefore, the upcoming IAEA Symposium on International Safeguards, which is held every four years, will bring together regulatory authorities, governments, the research and development community, and industry to identify challenges and opportunities under the rapidly evolving operating environment that we see today.
At the symposium in Vienna, Austria, we will present work that suggests using blockchain technology to share an immutable ledger of nuclear material accounting information among all member states, as well as with the IAEA itself, could make the falsification of electronic records in a diversion attempt significantly more difficult.
This proof-of-concept system, known as Shared Ledger Implementation of Nuclear Material Accounting and Control (SLINMAC) provides a secure platform for sharing confidential reports, and an authoritative, auditable shared ledger of all transactions. SLINMAC is designed to complement established reporting practices and improve the efficiency of transit matching for both domestic and international shipments of nuclear material.
Security Requirements for Nuclear Information
The IAEA’s Security of Nuclear Information Implementing Guide states that: “Information security not only includes ensuring the confidentiality of information, but also includes ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the information (its integrity) and the accessibility or usability of the information on demand (its availability).”
