Blockchain-based federated identity and auditing

Abstract

A federated identity is a single identity that enables users to access multiple services across a network of business parties. Such identities are subject to various threats and attacks and face diverse challenges including identity leaks, centralised management, auditing limitations, and long breach investigation processes. This paper proposes a framework aimed at automating and decentralising the generation and auditing of a robust and secured blockchain-based federated identity in a marketplace. Business parties participating in the marketplace form the nodes of a distributed blockchain network and participate in the creation of federated identities. Users of this network can access services provided by any one of the participating parties using a single federated identity. All transactions are fully audited in the blockchain, meaning that participating parties can monitor access to their service and users can trace the use of their identities. The proposed framework has been evaluated using two blockchain technologies (Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric) to measure its performance in public and permissioned blockchain environments.