Flinders and blockchain innovator SIMBA Chain have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to apply blockchain to joint research projects and subsequent commercial opportunities through digital technologies.
At Flinders, the Jeff Bleich Centre for the U.S. Alliance in Digital Technology, Security and Governance, is addressing the misuses of digital technologies that threaten demographic societies and alliances, and the new collaboration with SIMBA Chain will help advance complex research projects.
Founded in 2017, SIMBA Chain has rapidly established a reputation as a blockchain technology resource for the United States Department of Defense, securing multiple contracts to develop secure communications and supply chain solutions with blockchain as the foundational technology. SIMBA Chain’s smart-contract-as-a-service platform empowers users to easily develop and deploy sophisticated distributed applications that are secure, immutable and verifiable – qualities that are critical to governments and industry across the free world.
“Cybersecurity threats to governments and businesses around the world have never been greater and are becoming more sophisticated,” says David Wasson, SIMBA Chain’s lead executive for research and academic initiatives.
“We are excited about the new defense and academic collaborative agreement with Flinders University because it combines SIMBA Chain’s powerful blockchain security technology with Flinders’ world-classsocial scientists and digital anthropologists, which will produce actionable security solutions for Australia, the United States and other global allies.”
Dr Zac Rogers, research leader for the Jeff Bleich Centre, says his team has been tracking blockchain development closely since 2017, with a focus on digital security and military affairs. “Blockchain offers a number of opportunities, from locking down data for security purposes to offering provenance over the digital processes our societies increasingly rely on to function, says Dr Rogers. “SIMBA Chain has gone from strength to strength in this area and was of particular interest to our Centre due to their work with the US defense sector. It was a natural progression for us to reach out and partner in the research space with the SIMBA Chain team,” he said.
As part of the MOU, the SIMBA Chain team will include Chief Technology Officer Ian Taylor, who in 2019 was recognized among the world’s Top 40 Blockchain Influencers by ICO Alert.
“Ian does an incredible job of making blockchain technology accessible and understandable,” says Dr Rogers. “He has the capacity to translate technology application across contexts and use cases, including the cybersecurity realm. It’s a huge asset to work with Ian as we explore how best to integrate technologies to strengthen and reinforce our democracies.”
SIMBA Chain and Flinders University plan to share resources and technology to facilitate research strategies. A number of projects are in the planning stage.
About SIMBA Chain, Inc.
SIMBA Chain’s cloud-based, Smart Contract as a Service platform enables industry and governments to quickly develop and deploy Web 3.0 distributed applications for many blockchains and across many platforms. SIMBA Chain was the recipient of TechPoint’s 2019 Mira Award for New Product of the Year and 1st Source Bank’s 2019 Commercialization Award. The SIMBA Chain platform supports Ethereum, Quorum, RSK, Stellar and Hyperledger as well as other blockchain protocols. Learn more.