Who are you?
This is a question that often comes up in
our daily lives.
Whether we are boarding a plane, checking
our bank balance or paying a utility bill,
we regularly have to prove we are who we say
we are.
However more than 1 billion people across
the globe cannot prove who they are with any
certainty.
Many of those have never had a form of verifiable
ID to begin with.
And more than 15 million were victims of identity
theft last year alone.
With this in mind we have developed a unique
digital identity prototype to modernize identity
management for organizations and individuals.
Leveraging the power of blockchain and biometrics,
the system makes establishing, tracking and
maintaining digital identities more efficient,
user friendly, secure and less open to fraud.
Let’s follow Yousef as he establishes and
builds his identity.
At an enrollment station, his biometrics are
securely captured through his fingerprints,
voice, face or an iris scan.
Then several steps are taken to create a unique
identifier using multiple security protocols.
This identifier is then recorded on the blockchain
which acts as an index with links to all applicable
data.
This makes it easy to locate, access, and
share information without Yousef’s [personal
data being stored on the blockchain.
Using an application on his phone, Yousef
creates a personal profile that is multi-factored
and authentication secured.
The app allows Yousef to generate his own
set of public and private keys which he can
use to sign the data he sends to others.
That way third parties can be absolutely certain
the information is his.
Yousef shares the public key using a QR Code.
When he scans his QR Code at the enrolment
station an official attestation is added to
his profile and signed by a private key.
This is the beginning of Yousef’s living
identity, an identity that he will build with
each stamp he collects from his university,
his employer or from government and non-government
agencies.
The major benefit of this identity system
is that Yousef is always in control of his
own personal data.
He determines which information is shared,
who seed it and for how long.
Instead of multiple paper documents, he can
use a single, easy to use and manage app.
The system makes life easier for organizations
too:
It’s interoperable with other databases
so existing identity data stays put.
Efficiency for background checks is greatly
improved, as an organization can choose to
trust existing attestations instead of repeating
the process.
For additional security, there’s also the
option of checking data at source if the user
grants permission.
The system is also flexible.
While this prototype has been created for
a mobile device, the technology can work with
or without connected devices.
The prototype is the basis for our work with
ID2020, a public/private partnership committed
to providing a digital identity to the 1.2
billion individuals living without a way to
prove their existence.
We believe it’s the first step towards a
digital identity that makes answering the
question: “Who are you?” as simple as
saying: “I am.”
