What is decentralized identity?

Decentralized Identity is an identity management framework based on open standards. It is also referred to as self-sovereign identity.

To begin with, think about what ID is. It stands for an identity document that is used to verify a person’s identity, for example, a passport issued by a central authority, such as a government.

A digital ID is a digital version of such documents, For example, a Driver’s license. We share this data for a variety of reasons when interacting with an app or website. Although our consent is sometimes sought, we often do not have much control over who owns the data.

Decentralized identity management recognizes our right to greater control over personal data and only shares information relevant to the verification required in that particular context.

Decentralized Identifier (DID)

Two fundamental concepts underpin decentralized identity management: decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verified certificates (VCs).

A DID is a globally recognized unique identifier that can refer to any subject, eg, person, organization or abstract entity. DIDs are created and generated cryptographically.

As the name suggests, DIDs do not rely on a centralized registry. They use blockchain and distributed ledger technology to verify the validity of an identity. Therefore, they are immutable; No third party can remove, censor or manipulate them.

DID allows you to use your digital identity across multiple platforms and blockchains while protecting your privacy and ensuring security. They are user-generated and self-owned

Verified Certificate (VC)

Our credentials, such as university degrees, proof of work experience, or healthcare backgrounds issued by trusted organizations, bring us many advantages in the physical world. However, they still don’t work with that efficiency in the digital realm. For this to happen, the certificates must be digitally verified.

VCs represent cryptographically generated tamper-proof digital versions of such certificates. As in the physical world, any trusted entity, such as a school or hospital, can issue VCs. As such, verifiable certificates include the same information as physical certificates. In short, they can demonstrate real-world traits and skills in the digital world.

VC and DID work together by implementing open standards. Consequently, we can collect, For exampleMany certificates from different sources and keep them in a crypto wallet

The main standards used today for DIDs and VCs are provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C standard requires three roles:

  • Holders own the digital identity.
  • Issuers are trusted authorities that create and issue certificates to holders.
  • Verifiers are third parties who verify the authenticity of the controller’s identity.

When requested to share data, the holder can decide whether to authorize it. Thus, issuers or verifiers can only access the information shared by the DID holder. This information exchange can happen through various technologies, such as NFC, QR or Bluetooth. Zero-knowledge proofs are implemented to restrict access to complete information.

Who is providing decentralized identity management?

Decentralized identity management is a new domain. Two important players are IOTA and Ontology.

IOTA is developing the Unified Identity Protocol (UIP) based on W3C standards. UIP will allow anyone to create a digital identity. IOTA uses its own distributed ledger known as the Tangle, which is a peerless and scalable solution. This is why decentralized identity creation using UIP is also expected to be realized. UIP will provide a platform to unify identities under a unified protocol. This means trusting relationships will be formed not only with people but also with objects, cars etc.

Ontology’s ONT ID is another decentralized identity solution built using W3C standards. ONT ID enables developers to create VCs through SDKs written in Java and Golang languages. To integrate VCs with DID, developers can use the ID SDK. Businesses can seamlessly integrate Ontology’s decentralized ID solution into their existing infrastructure.



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