Digital Identity.

 

<This is an in-progress document frequently updated - 12% complete>

Digital Identity is more often considered in the realms of entitlement (what can you see and do in a Digital Platform), cybersecurity, etc but many often overlook the fact that Digital Identity unlocks amazing possibilities in the ever-growing Digital Economy.

In this section, we will explore challenges, opportunities, and innovations happening in the Digital Identity space and how they can bolster Digital Transformation Strategies.

Proving your Digital Identity (for a customer) revolves around your Identity Construct :

  1. Something you know (and not shared with your neighbour and friends)

  2. Something you have ( a plastic card, a phone, a wearable)

  3. Something you are (your fingerprint, voice )

“You” could be a person, organization or device.

1 and 3 are solely/mostly yours and 2 typically is issued/bought.

Now to the Trust Triangle. Trust Triangle comprises of 3 main actors

  1. Holder (You)

  2. Issuer

  3. Verifier

To complete a digital transaction such as online payment, you are having to provide details of your Identity construct. The catch here is, this is a leaky bucket scenario and the trust you place with the third party is often misplaced and often you are the receiving end of the data leakage. Equally important are the issues of Data Privacy & Data Ownership. BigTechs have built a massive amount of wealth on the data you think are sharing with your friends and family but actually ends up in the huge (data) warehouses of BigTechs to use them and sell more “Relevant” stuff to all of us.

Your Digital Identity and associated credentials (education, financial behaviour, social etc) are key to participate in digital services offered by governments, get the right deals for your mortgage & very importantly prove who you are to those who need to verify (opening a new bank account).

One of the key development in the area of Digital Identity and credential validation is Self Sovereign Identity (SSI).

SSI has 3 foundational tenets

  1. Distributed Digital Identities

  2. Verifiable Credentials and

  3. Distributed Ledger / Blockchain

<Last Updated on August 29th 2021 To Be Continued…>