Abstract
This article introduces how SecureKey Technologies Inc. (SecureKey) worked with various network participants and innovation partners alongside government, corporate, and consumer-focused collaborators, in a consortium approach to create a mutually beneficial network of self-sovereign identity (SSI) principles with blockchain in Canada. These principles are based on giving users ownership and control over all of their digital identity attributes as an alternative approach to the current status quo of centralized digital identity, which focuses on discrete identities are made within individual online properties. Blockchain is used as the foundation for its strong security protocols to prevent information from being identified, accessed, or misused and uphold SSI principles. This article will consider the current status quo of digital identity known as centralized digital identity and comparisons to the case study’s emphasis on the alternative thinking of SSI with principles with blockchain, which prioritizes a decentralized, self-sovereign, consortium approach as opposed to discrete identities within individual online properties. Each of these principles will be explained in detail before highlighting the practical implications, lessons learned for future applications, and how both the Canadian and global identity landscapes should proceed for wider acceptance of SSI with blockchain. The case study detailed – that of Verified.Me – will demonstrate how blockchain developers can actively work to help partners transition from current identity silos to instead collaborate across varied industries and create a cohesive, secure service and digital identity network that benefits users through SSI principles and the benefits of blockchain. We also offer recommendations for how both the Canadian and global identity landscapes should proceed for wider acceptance of SSI with blockchain, the benefits of doing so, and anticipated barriers affecting the adoption of future decentralized identity initiatives.
Highlights
The increased prevalence of today’s data breaches and cyber security incidents, the detriments of data silos, and the benefits of proper protocols enforcing security and usability have been important considerations amid the heightened interested in and developments of modern digital identity systems
Given the amount of control users will have over their data, the number of other organizations required, and the principles dictating that the freedoms and rights of users should be preserved over the needs of the network, all the parties involved placing a large deal of responsibility on organization managing the user authentication – “the data is real, but is it the real user?” In the real world, the practical implication of this is that the initial coordination process and gathering funding can be a significant undertaking to prove the organization’s capabilities, while having enough partners involved to showcase the value-add of choosing this model over the current DIY model that may be immediately more convenient, but is more problematic over time
When Verified.Me launched in May 2019, SecureKey worked with various network participants and innovation partners, alongside government, corporate, and consumerfocused collaborators, in a consortium approach to create a mutually beneficial network that upholds the principles of self-sovereign identity (SSI) in Canada
Summary
The increased prevalence of today’s data breaches and cyber security incidents, the detriments of data silos, and the benefits of proper protocols enforcing security and usability have been important considerations amid the heightened interested in and developments of modern digital identity systems. Neither private nor public sector solves the whole street identity problem individually – they solve it together in the hands of and under control of the user This emphasizes a high level of commitment between the public and private sectors that requires cooperation and collaboration between the two to enhance the state of national cyber security, which is especially important considering that the digitalization of government services includes the need for a safe, portable, and accessible digital identity (Zwitter et al, 2020). Trusted and verified data mean that the data come from an existing, known source that does this already for street identity today In that context, these networks have the potential to secure the following (SecureKey, 2019):. Most digital identity projects will not meet all of these criteria, but the 10 principles serve as a preliminary benchmark to assess existing SSI solutions (Wang and De Filippi, 2020): 1. Existence: Users must have an independent existence
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