Why Internal Auditors Must Care About Blockchain

Blockchain’s general risks are not unlike those associated with the deployment of any new technology: scalability, data privacy, jurisdictional issues and ensuring performance through service-level agreements (SLA). Jurisdictional issues can create a unique concern with blockchain because of the decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) involved. In the event of a data breach or a legal dispute, where does jurisdictional responsibility reside and how do organizations handle potentially conflicting laws and regulations across jurisdictional boundaries? This article lists several unique technical risks that exist for blockchain, as well as discussion around how internal audit should prepare for it.