Identosphere #33 • Affinidi PoCathon Winners $10,000+ Prizes • Objection to TOIP incentive layer • OWI Recap
Another week in the identosphere jam-packed with more information than we can cover in the space of an e-mail, but sure do try!!!
Welcome to Identosphere’s Weekly Highlights
Thanks for joining us, and thanks to our Patrons who help to keep this operation going. We love our patrons, and will continue determining creative ways to reward you for your support.
Coming UP
2 eSSIF-Lab calls: 1 webinar • May 27
technical coordinator (TNO) and open call manager (FBA) will be answering all your questions about the application process, the programme and the value of the eSSIF-Lab’s Open Calls, live on air.
Hiring
Join Trinsic as a BACKEND ENGINEER
Introductory
Self-Sovereign Identity – A Possibility for More Data Control for Users DataEthics.eu
The Basic Building Blocks of SSI Manning
The missing link: digitizing supply chains with portable data Mavnet
Affinidi PoCathon
Announcing the Winners
$10,000+ worth of ETH in prizes
The six-week-long PoCathon conducted by Affinidi from 26th March to 10th May 2021, saw 471 participants. Overall, we had 39 submissions from different teams and 25 project presentations in which participants used Affinidi’s verifiable credentials API and SDK
Healthcare
1st Prize: AED Access, Dave McKay, enables authorized access the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) devices.
2nd prize: YouNo, Alan Wang, uses VCs to help prevent the spread of STDs among sex workers.
Fintech
1st prize: Daver Proxy, simulates a corporate proxy creation. This proxy can be used to designate a person who is authorized to act on behalf of the company.
2nd prize: RippleFund by Callista and Carey. This project used Affinidi’s API to make crow dfunding accessible to and trusted by the public
Open category
1st prize: TransportHub, Priyanka Pol, Nita Hinge, Madhusudan J, Tanvi Lokhande, and Mandar Tawde who came together to revolutionize the future of trucking and logistics with verifiable credentials.
2nd prize: The Hospitality Manager, Arnav Ladkat and Aamir Miyajiwala, protects travelers’ privacy and help them travel light when visiting hotels for vacation or business.
3rd prize: David Bensadon, used VCs helpingmigrant domestic workers to build up their CV, so they can have a thriving career, better salaries, and quick access to third-party services.
25+ Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for Verifiable Credentials Affinidi
Today, we proudly present another 25+ Proof of Concepts for VC implementation. These use cases are a compilation of the submissions (in no particular order) made by the participants of the Affindi PoCathon 2021.
Thoughtful Posts
Can the Digital Future Be Our Home? Windley
This post features three fantastic books from three great, but quite different, authors on the subject of Big Tech, surveillance capitalism, and what's to be done about it.
Authentic Digital Relationships Windley
Self-sovereign identity, supported by a heterarchical identity metasystem, creates a firm foundation for rich digital relationships that allow people to be digitally embodied so they can act online as autonomous agents.
Self-Sovereign Identity - The Nash Equilibrium Point of the Personal Identity Information Game
A silent war is ongoing between users and companies over the control of data.
1 Privacy or convenience is a question
2 SSI is the answer to this question
To Better Understand Digital Identity, Look to Physics Ping
In chaotic systems such as those that the discipline of physics seeks to describe, there is also the concept of the “self-organizing principle,” which dictates a tendency for chaotic systems to organize themselves. While this might be a tendency in physics, organization usually needs a nudge in the right direction in the identity world. Proper attention to requirements and a good change control process are a crucial part of the equation.
What if we Gave Users Control of Their Own Digital Identity? Infosecurity Mag
On a holistic level, such a movement could bring trust back into online transactions, allow enterprises to better protect personal data and grant users more control over their data in a time when they have far too little.
Organization News
Building an SSI Ecosystem: Digital Staff Passports at the NHS Windley
How does a functioning credential ecosystem get started? This post goes deep on Manny Nijjar’s work to create a program for using digital staff passports in the sprawling UK NHS bureaucracy.
Me2BA Sees Progress in Google’s “Pre-Announcement” for an Independently Audited Safety Section in Google Play Store
On May 6, 2021, two days after the Me2B Alliance published our report on data sharing in school utility apps, Google issued a “pre-announcement” describing major improvements to app labeling in the Android app store
[...]
The announcement signals a serious intention to not only catch up to Apple’s privacy label, but surpass it, by introducing independent validation of the Android app privacy information.
Self-sovereign identity semantics: An economic extension to the Trust over IP stack
Editorial: Kaliya thinks this is a terrible idea. It is based on the premise that identity providers (issuers of credentials) should get paid every time a person (the holder) presents the credential in their wallet, when shared with the relying party (verifier) I think this is toxic and we are just finally getting to aligned standards for the VC format and for exchange protocols - now some how we are going to rapidly add a payments layer?
NO this isn’t going to work it is going to create lock-in to particular wallets for particular credentials. All because some entrepreneurs who are no longer leading their companies sold SAFTS for token sales to greedy investors. There is a mess under here that should be exposed further now that they are trying to push this model again.
Connecting Citizens and Government for Better Services MyData
Our vision for Inclued is for it to become the de facto choice for two-way, secure citizen engagement that empowers citizens to not only access services but influence what is delivered to them, while giving governments and citizens insight and evidence into the value and impact of working with, not for citizens.
Where Do We Stand on Self-Sovereign Identity? EU Blockchain
According to the Self-Sovereign Identity approach, users should be able to create and control their own identity, without relying on any centralised authority. This way, the identity owner can determine when, where, why and with whom to provide access to these credentials.
PRE-NGI Forum event: Self-sovereign identity trust
This workshop is organized by IoT Council for the NGI Forward project and it is supported by the ELONTech and hosted by MADE GROUP. It has two parts. A webinar with short presentations (60 min) and a general discussion on Big Blue Button for participants in to contribute (60 min). Topic is online trust, based on Self Sovereign Identity frameworks funded in NGI projects. International interest in digital identity management and SSI is growing globally.
Crypto / Asst Tracking
On the thermodynamics of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Holochain
Holochain makes a bold claim: Consensus is unnecessary for most of the things blockchain is interested in doing.
Mattereum & UNION: Risk Protection for the Digital-Physical Economy
Here’s a brief overview of the DeFi insurance landscape, UNION’s unique approach to risk protection, and how the UNION and Mattereum integration will work in practice.
Decentralizing and Securing Collectible Card Grading Services with the Mattereum Protocol
Avoid costly industry deadlocks and gatekeeping with a peer-produced, decentralized alternative to centralized collectible grading and authentication services with the Mattereum Protocol
Blockchain Identity Management: The Definitive Guide (2021 Update) TYKN
In this blog our team of experts examine what blockchain is, what benefits it brings to identity management, the role of cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs, why it’s a terrible idea to put personal data on the blockchain and much more.
SSI for NFTs, Offline and Connectionless Use Cases, NFC Chip Cards and More with Caspar SSIOrbit
We discuss various use cases of verifiable credentials using NFC such as offline and connectionless use cases.
We discuss NFTS, and if SSI can perhaps help increase the value of a community created NFT by ensuring the proof of ownership or creation at time of minting.
We also briefly touch upon SSI use cases for decentralized finance, often referred to as DeFi, towards the end of the conversation
Decentralized IDs: Community Call with Jolocom Stacks
An open community call with Stacks Foundation Research Scientist, Jude Nelson, and the Jolocom team. This session went over progress on the Jolocom-Stacks integration as well as facilitating Q&A about DID on Stacks.
Standards Work
Peer DIDs — An Off-Ledger DID Implementation Affinidi
Peer DIDs offer many benefits such as,
No transaction costs involved
Easy to create and maintain
Since these DIDs are independent of a central system such as a GDPR controller, they can be scaled as needed
Offers the highest levels of privacy as only the parties involved can access the DIDs
No uncertainties or external problems since these DIDs are not associated with any particular network
No degradation of trust throughout the entire lifecycle.
In tune with local-first software philosophies
Reduces unnecessary correlation between a verifier and an issuer of a verifiable credential.
OWI Digital Forum Recap: The Rise & Adoption of Verifiable Credentials
Trinsic CEO Riley Hughes sat down with One World Identity (OWI) CEO Travis Jarae to have a one-on-one conversation about “The Rise & Adoption of Verifiable Credentials”. Below is a short summary
Redefining the Student Journey Condatis
Digital innovation has been front and centre in Higher Education since the pandemic. The challenges remain for universities supporting students now and for the future. With the help of Microsoft Azure AD Verifiable Credentials, universities can support student needs effective and innovative digital approach.
SSI for smart locks h\t Animo
Company News
Digital Wallets & Verifiable Credentials Webinar Liquid Avatar (video)
Host: RJ Reiser, Chief Business Development Officer at Liquid Avatar Technologies Panelist: Health Dahl, CEO of Indicio tech
Jay Fischbach, CFO of Vector Health Laboratories
KILT Protocol Introduces Decentralised Identity Verification with SocialKYC
Launch Partners Include Polkadex, Fractal, Subsocial Network, GameDAO, DeBio Network and Galaniprojects
Decentralized, Self-Sovereign, Consortium: The Future of Digital Identity in Canada Andre Boysen
COMMUNITY CASE STUDY Front. Blockchain, 29 April 2021
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.
An SSI Based System for Incentivized and Self-determined Customer-to-Business Data Sharing in a Local Economy Context IdUnion (paper)
Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) provides the technical building blocks to create decentralized data-driven systems, which bring data autonomy back to the users. In this paper we propose a system in which the combination of SSI and token economy based incentivisation strategies makes it possible to unlock the potential value of data-pools without compromising the data autonomy of the users.
Introducing the Indicio DemoNet—a new decentralized network for product demonstration Indicio
The Indicio DemoNet joins the Indicio TestNet, which is used for developing new technology releases, and the Indicio MainNet, which hosts mission-critical products and services. With the DemoNet, Indicio now provides a full suite of networks for decentralized identity development and deployment.
Businesses need to ‘mind the trust gap’ so users don’t need to sacrifice privacy, MEF Global Consumer Trust Survey finds DigiMe
Key findings from the report are:
Users sacrifice privacy and security for access to valued services
Smartphone users begin to sense improvement in the mobile environment
More and more users take protective steps, but remain exposed to harm
Protective actions do not necessarily drive confidence
Cost, knowledge and perceived complexity are key barriers
Transparency and control are key values for users
Only 5% Of US Consumers Want To Be Tracked For Ads Anonyme
That means 95% of US consumers are saying ‘no way’ to cross-app tracking with Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature.
Your User Is Your API Evernym
Rather than having one huge, expensive, and probably illegal data hub, every customer becomes a data hub in their own right. They provide the data needed, just-in-time, under their control.
Spruce Developer Update #9
“the latest from our development efforts” on Tezos Profiles & Kepler, DIDKit, and Credible
Podcasts
Me2BA Executive Director Lisa LeVasseur featured on Masters of Privacy podcast Me2b
describes Me2BA’s approach to respectful technology behavior and discusses the Alliance’s work in standards development and independent testing. The conversation touches on the broader issues of our evolving and personal relationships with technology products and services, and the potential for respectful behavior to provide a deeper and better level of engagement, to the benefit of individuals and businesses alike.
Covid Credentials
Jumpstart the Global Travel Industry Using Self-Sovereign Identity for COVID-19 Immunity Credentials TATA
Reviving trust in safe travel is possible using digital identity and immunity credentials.
Travel bans, quarantines and lockdowns have negatively impacted the travel industry
Restoring trust and safety is paramount for travel, tourism and hospitality industries to recover
Self-sovereign identity (SSI) built on distributed ledger technology (like blockchain) and cryptography could be used to reinvigorate travel by allowing individuals to easily and securely demonstrate their immunity status
VeriFLY Lets Users Upload Vaccine Credentials FindBiometrics
“We envision a world where your VeriFLY digital wallet will provide access to the places you and your family want to visit. And the ability to accept a vaccine health credential will accelerate opportunities to resume activities we’ve all dearly missed.” – Tom Grissen, CEO, Daon
Web 3 Identity but not SSI
Inventories, Not Identities: Why multisigs are the future of online accounts
Embracing more than the normative individual as a fundamental unit of account, such a paradigm could better serve the creation of resilient, accountable, and mutualistic institutions leading into the twenty-first century.