Opinion by: Angie Darrow, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Ecosystem Communications Officer at the Web3 Foundation
When a temporary data cloud outage can interfere with the global financial system – as AWS Tokyo Outage showed in April – there is a miscalculation of infrastructure that is undergoing data economy today.
In the early hours of April 12, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a “Connecting issue“At its Tokyo data center. The flow lasted only 36 minutes, but the effects of the ripple were immediately. When the AWS falters, so did the architecture of the global economy. Not only our ownership or money at risk.
The same destruction today knocks on the doors of the US government, in particular, the Internal Revenue Service, through an experimental initiative operated by the DOGE to generate a “mega api” to centered the accumulation of taxpayer data through a single, cloud-based platform.
Let it sink. Personal financial information of each American can now be managed through a single interface. Possibly violated by a bad actor. All under the banner of “efficiency.”
We see how dangerous the type of centralization is. AWS Tokyo Outage is not just a care for global finances; This is a real-time warning for public institutions that think of going to all cloud combinations without sufficient democratic care and decentralized technological guardrails. The new fact that this presents a significant wake-up call for public-initiated institutions.
Risk of risks
Consider whether the IRS Mega API has dropped during the tax period. Or if it is a delusion. Or if it is that -hack. There is a better way.
Decentralized technology offers a radical variety of architecture. Instead of integrating power into a single API or cloud service, it is distributed by decentralized systems to many nodes. Accessing is controlled by cryptographic proofs. The actions have been proven onchain, and privacy is preserved through zero-knowledge protocols.
Without the privacy of data promoted, with government and financial control over some of their most sensitive data, the only need is a quick policy change to mean a person is not worthy for certain services.
True data privacy promotes individual autonomy and equal treatment for all, and ensures governments and institutions held at the highest liability standards.
The quick resolution of AWS should not be assured of us. We should be alarmed that the entire data plane for important services – financial, government or otherwise – can be stopped due to a centralized point of failure. If the Doge Mega API is built on the same model, it will quickly lead to financial chaos for American households.
Enter decentralization
In an IRS data system based on the blockchain, you do not need to provide a central cloud access provider of taxpayer data. Rather, Smart contracts It may be deserving of fitting for a credit or compliance with a tax rule without announcing the underlying personal information.
Such systems are not just the theoretical safer and more democratic structure. The data stored in the blockchain cannot be changed, creating a tamper-proof system that can withstand the attempt to edit.
In connection with this resistant nature, the smart contact system means that user data remains private and safe, with minimal need for human interaction with sensitive information.
Related: IRS has appointed Trish Turner to lead the crypto division in the middle of the resignation
That’s why countries like Estonia and the regions of the European Union are Already explores decentralized public infrastructure For digital identity and services.
The real risk is political abuse
There is another, deeper remembrance here: political power. When accessing citizen data is centralized, so is the ability to take care of. Today, it is Palanteir Engineers and Doge operatives. Tomorrow, it can be political appointments with an ax to grind. A bad actor can change your tax return, work history and family data with a swing.
The EXPERIENCE TO DOGE is not just a plan in the modernization of IT. It is a reimagining of how citizens are in contact with the government, and how much power of government (and contractors) should have more than our data. If we allow these changes to hurry, under the cover of “efficiency,” we risk trading with a messy pluralism of public management for brittle speed of centralized tech.
AWS Outage is a clear signal: cloud platforms are not mistaken. When they fail, the consequences of the cascade. Let’s not make the same mistake at a government institution like the IRS.
Decentralized technology is not perfect, but at a time when trust is firing and the data is money, it offers a safer, fair and more resilient management. We cannot ignore the web3 vision, especially when our institutions are racing to the exact opposite.
Opinion by: Angie Darrow, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Ecosystem Communications Officer at the Web3 Foundation.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be done as legal or investment advice. The views, attitudes, and opinions expressed here are unique and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of the cointelegraph.
