Information and communication technologies provide progress to society, and the role of the state is generally aimed at the benefit of the population, offering better conditions for access to information or its services through more interactive and participatory electronic means with citizens, in terms of E-government.

E-government aims to create a new type of public services based on increasingly integrated and effective relationships with society, whose public institutions begin to formulate public actions and policies based on more modern service provision and an increasingly integrated database and information, in order to offer better services to the population.

The transformation of public services and governance can be seen as the right of the citizen to request public institutions and their public services at any time via E-government in the logic of 24-hour operation, in which the request for services and information will be made by the citizen at any time or instantly via the Internet. From this point of view, it is extremely important to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the network, which can be implemented using blockchain technologies.

Blockchain as a Network of Trust

Blockchain is seen as a network of trust that will run on the internet's data protocols, allowing for automated and cost-effective transactions between people, companies, and countries. Every piece of information or transaction must go through the network's verification process to ensure its authenticity and accuracy. This is what makes this technology so valuable, as it ensures that all nodes in the network agree and have exactly the same information, avoiding common fraud situations in systems that rely on third-party verification.

Blockchain in E-Government

E-Government systems  are faced with the challenge of promoting transparency, especially in the areas of governance, resource allocation, and achieving greater efficiency, among other things. For these reasons, many governments have shown interest in the technology. Blockchain orders for governments could be the missing link in helping governments fully digitize.

The world is moving towards digitization, as seen in many sectors such as retail and entertainment in particular. E-Government initiatives have also been under pressure to follow suit, but this is easier said than done. One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of digitization for many governments is the issue of security.

Materials and Methods

The research method is based on a theoretical review, research, and analysis of foreign and Kazakh experiments in the implementation of blockchain pilot projects. In this article, we conduct a literature review on the use of blockchain technology in E-government applications to identify E-government services that can benefit from the use of blockchains, the types of technologies selected for the proposed solutions and their respective maturity levels.

In order to identify the factors influencing the internal and external environment of blockchain technology development in the public administration system, media monitoring is proposed, international and national statistics are analyzed. Individual regulatory measures of the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding digital technologies were also considered.

Based on the research results, it was concluded that this technology has both opportunities and barriers to entry into the Public Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Currently, the blockchain industry is very decentralized and is predominantly local in nature. If possible, its introduction into the public administration system is characterized by the complexity of technical implementation.

Results and Discussion

A review of the relevant literature in this area points to Australia, Canada, Dubai, Estonia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, India, Israel, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland, Georgia, Japan and China as countries where the concept of blockchain technology is already most developed and adapted to numerous applications within E-Government. The purpose of this section is to describe the most advanced blockchain initiatives that best contribute to the development of best practices for implementation.

Best Practices for Blockchain Implementation

Australia (2018)

Application Scope: Housing and Land Registration
Involved Stakeholders: Property owners, commercial intermediaries such as real estate agents, banks, Property Exchange Australia (PEXA), and government officials
Civil Perspective: Centralized storage of all housing-related documents to prevent security breaches, loss of relevant data, and to ensure efficient and convenient real estate transactions, including the resolution of any disputes that arise.
Government Perspective: Centralized record keeping of all stages and documents of the housing and land cadastre process to prevent counterfeiting and manipulation, reduce volatility and uncertainty in the housing market, increasing the efficiency of bureaucratic processes related to housing.

Canada

Scope of Application: E-Employment
Involved Stakeholders: Citizens, enterprises, and state employment services related to employment
Civilian Perspective: A unique digital resume for each project employee to highlight previous experience, skills, and other qualifications.
Business Perspective: Centrally generated resume to prevent employment fraud and to increase efficiency and reduce costs in the recruitment process.
Government Perspective: Preventing document forgery, time stamping, and audits faced by public administrations.

Dubai

Scope of Application: Business Registration and Licensing
Involved Stakeholders: Dubai Economic Department, Licensing Authorities, and Enterprises
Business Perspective: Single point of contact for requesting trade licenses for the corporate registry.
Government Perspective: Automated, simplified, and fraud-proof information on all trade license applicants with authentication of all incoming and outgoing transactions.

Estonia

Scope of Application: E-Cabinet (Electronic Office)
Involved Stakeholders: Estonian government
Government Perspective: Automate, streamline, and improve all government-related public services and decision-making processes to be more transparent, efficient, and decisive in terms of transparency and traceability across the entire Estonian public authority.

Scope of Application: E-Residency
Involved Stakeholders: Estonian government, enterprises, and citizens
Civic Perspective: Create a digital identity that gives every citizen authority and trust. It enables digital authentication, identification, encryption, and transmission of government documents of all kinds.
Government and Business Perspectives: Improve the design of services in the public administration sector.

South Korea

Scope of Application: E-Voting
Involved Stakeholders: Provincial authorities, communities, and local residences
Civic Perspective: Enable local citizens to co-create the development and future of their community by inviting them to propose and vote on initiatives and policy proposals.
Government Perspective: A centralized repository to track, evaluate, and store all votes and election results to ensure trust and transparency in the electoral process and democracy, as well as immutability.

Blockchain Security and Risks

Moving the personal data of millions of people onto digital platforms poses a high risk if the system is hacked. However, blockchain is touted as secure due to its structure, meaning that it could offer a viable solution that could help governments finally go digital.

The fact that blockchain is virtually unhackable makes it more attractive for developing digital systems for governments. Blockchain technology opens up new opportunities for governments at all levels: transparency and access to information; combating fraud; the highest quality of public data, control and information security; increased efficiency; and increased trust in public administration.

Blockchain in Kazakhstan

There are two independent associations operating in Kazakhstan: the Kazakhstan Association of the Blockchain and Data Center Industry and the Association of Blockchain Technology Producers and Users BlockchainKZ.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with the Blockchain Association, has developed a conceptual draft law on digital technologies in Kazakhstan. With the adoption of the law, concepts and phenomena related to blockchain technology and distributed data storage entered the legal sphere of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Blockchain decentralizes data and stores it more securely. This allows for information to be tracked, and cybersecurity is one of the main results. Blockchain distributed ledger technology, due to its secure and immutable nature, is ideal for meeting new government requirements and functions as a secure repository for identification purposes and can be the answer to combating money laundering and fraud in businesses.

Blockchain applications in the public sector can help governments better secure their critical infrastructure, thereby preventing cyber-attacks from a distance. Most of the critical systems used by governments around the world to facilitate service delivery are connected to the internet. This highlights the importance of security for critical systems, and as such, it is potentially the best solution. A decentralized ledger can also be designed in such a way that it can track the integrity of government systems. This would significantly reduce the likelihood of attacks and data tampering.

Read more : Blockchain: Public, Private, or Alliance Chains

Conclusion

Blockchain technology has been called one of the most transformative technologies to date, being one of the most obvious uses for cryptocurrencies. It is the same technology that cryptocurrencies are based on, but they have many other uses. Blockchain can be described as a highly secure and decentralized ledger system in which information can be stored but cannot be changed.

Instead of storing data on servers as before, via cloud storage, blockchain focuses on using a network of computers that store and verify data. The computers in this network can be distributed around the world, and the network is not controlled centrally.

Governments are often criticized for not knowing how to manage most of their processes effectively, but new technologies like blockchain have the potential to radically change this with blockchain solutions for the entire government. E-Government blockchain solutions may be something that becomes a reality in the coming years as governments begin to implement this technology.

Blockchain technology can improve the availability and openness of information, the ability to predict data, control over public data, combat corruption and fraud, and ensure information security, including more efficient public services by improving business processes for government officials at any level of government; and allow the creation of fast, cheap, and secure government archives.