Post-COVID 19, the world is moving towards digitalization at an accelerated pace, from e-commerce to e-banking, everything is getting revolutionized to make things easier and faster for the users. However, with major threats like transaction fraud, identity thefts, password leaks, and other cyber-attacks compromising personal data and leaving account owners vulnerable; it becomes essential that businesses/individuals take actions to protect their customer/own data and privacy in the digital interactions. To counter these challenges, blockchain-based emerging solutions like Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials will disrupt the identity & verification domain by protecting data privacy, sharing data with user-consent and securing transactions, while enhancing the overall user experience.
Decentralized Identity
Decentralized identity or self-sovereign identity is a new form of user-centric identity that is created, owned, and managed by users of their free will. Each user is identified with a Decentralized Identifier (DID) which is globally unique. Each DID has associated cryptographic material that helps in authenticating users and verifying credentials that are issued to or presented by them.
A distributed ledger or a blockchain forms the backbone of a decentralized identity system. Publicly listed DIDs belonging to businesses are registered on a distributed ledger or a blockchain and are controlled by their owners. User DIDs can be private or public but are private by default. Decentralized identity is strengthened by users acquiring credentials digitally from various issuers, such as government organizations, educational institutes, etc. The credentials are acquired and stored digitally in an identity wallet. They can also be presented to other organizations where the verifications can be done digitally. Decentralized identity powered by the blockchain provides a powerful construct for realizing the vision of digitally verifiable credentials.
Read our blog on ‘What is Decentralized Identity and Why Should You Care’ to get a clear understanding on this new Blockchain innovation.
Key Takeaways from the blog
- What is Decentralized Identity?
- Understand the challenges and problems with today’s identity systems, like Identity Silos, Password Insecurity, Issues with Digital Customer Onboarding
- Get informed about how Decentralized Identity can provide a solution to all the above-mentioned challenges.
Verifiable Credentials
Verifiable Credential is a new solution that allows the user to digitally issue credentials and sign it cryptographically, which can be verified with the help of the distributed ledger or blockchain. This ensures various credentials like educational qualification, job history, personal details, licenses, certificates, etc., are accessible to the authorized parties in a tamper-proof and authenticated manner.
For example, The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can issue a new driver’s license in the form of a physical card as well as a digital copy of the license as a verifiable credential, which can be stored in the individual’s identity wallet. The verifiable credential is digitally signed by the DMV and this signature can be verified by anybody the credential is presented to. Let’s say, if it is presented as an identity proof to open a bank account, the bank can digitally verify instantly that the license was indeed issued by the DMV and that it is still valid (not expired or revoked).
Verifiable credentials have the capability to significantly streamline and speed up digital customer onboarding workflows thereby cutting costs and improving turn-around times.
To know about this topic in detail, read our comprehensive blog on ‘Verifiable Credentials – The Next Big Wave in Customer Onboarding’.
Key Takeaways from the blog
- Know about Verifiable Credentials as a solution
- Understand the advantages of Verifiable Credentials like Instant verification,
- Credential revocations, Privacy-preserving interactions, Data ownership, Monetizing Data, etc.
- Know how Verifiable Credentials will make your customer onboarding seamless and secure.
Key Features of Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials’ Solution by Persistent Systems:
- Self-sovereign: User-created, managed & controlled identities are backed by the distributed ledger.
- Applicable Together: Verifiable credentials can be implemented easily on top of decentralized identity.
- User Consent: Sharing and verification of user data happen only with user-consent.
- Selective Sharing: Individual attributes within attestations can be selectively shared without revealing others.
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Claims can be proved without revealing underlying attributes.
- Cost Optimization: Seamless, speedy, and accurate client-onboarding can significantly cut down the cost of customer acquisitions
- Time Efficient: Most verification forms are long and time-consuming, with a pre-filled KYC form, verifiable credentials cut the paperwork.
- Secure: Authentication uses cryptographic keys and biometrics on the device. Data is always stored encrypted on devices and in the cloud. Keys are only in possession of the user.
- Backup and Recovery: Seamless backup and recovery enable easy migration to new devices.
Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials will help your business with rapid customer onboarding via verifiable credentials, securing data & online transactions, thus enabling you to build customer trust, avoid financial losses and adhere to data protection regulations like GDPR. At Persistent Blockchain Research Lab, we have expertise in customized blockchain solutions for Decentralized Identity & Verifiable Credentials. If you want to implement these solutions for your business or want to know more about our Decentralized Identity & Verifiable Credentials’ offerings, please reach out to us.
