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Self-sovereign identity (SSI) is the next-gen authentication architecture that solves all issues at once: an easy-to-use, privacy-preserving, and secure identity framework.
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DIDs and VCs are two fundamental standards of SSI technology established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization that generates recommendations and standards for the internetInternet. Both concepts, often combined with blockchain technologies, make up the powerhouse of SSI.
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DIDs are decentralized, portable identifiers that are not tied to any centralized registry or identity provider. Instead, they are created and managed by the owner and often stored in distributed ledgers. In an SSI ecosystem, Issuers, Users, and Verifiers are all represented by one or more DIDs.
More on DIDs here:
What are Verifiable Credentials (VCs)?
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Think of your passport in a secured, digital ID wallet that you can use to travel, or a digital academic diploma that you can use to apply for a job application without having to personally request the university’s administration to issue an “authentic version” every time a new entity requests it from you. Goodbye administrative headaches!
More on Verifiable Credentials here:
The
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Role of Blockchain
Although SSI platforms can be built without the need of for blockchain technologies, most solutions are built on top of one or more ledgers as a source of trust. Blockchain ledgers are mainly used as Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure systems (DPKI) to store and distribute registries of DIDs and associated public keys , but also to and register authorized Issuers and credential schemas.
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Recent announcements from European regulators have deemed DIDs of natural persons' private information. As such, only Only DIDs from legal entities may be registered in public blockchain networks.
More on DIDs and GDPR compliance here:
https://gataca.io/blog/ebsi-did-v2-a-test-to-ssi-usability-and-its-use-of-blockchain-technology
Benefits of SSI
A user-centric Digital Identity model has extensive benefits for individuals and businesses alike. In the short term, the implementation of Decentralized Identities lays down a means to reduce administrative and compliance costs and operational costs related to security for public administrations and online service providers.
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Decreased Identity fraud (identity theft) by eliminating centralized databases & passwords and introducing tamper-proof verifiable credentials and government-grade secure ID Wallets.
Improved conversion rates/reduced onboarding abandonment rates through one-click onboarding and authentication processes that enhance customer experience. Customers can forget about lengthy Know-Your-Customer (KYC) forms that force them to manually fill in the required information manually.
Increased efficiency for organizations, as resources, are no longer used to verify individual credential authenticity and legitimacy manually.
New revenue streams with the issuance of verifiable credentials.
Boosted privacy & security through the use of advanced cryptography.
Nonetheless, the SSI vision and philosophy go beyond instant benefits for the economy and, in the long term, aims to provide a solution to the 1 billion people who do not have any identification and the 3.4 billion without a digital self.
SSI
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Europe has positioned itself as one of the most advanced regions globally for Self-Sovereign Identity.
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Market Overview
2022 was a year in which the SSI industry was consolidated as a recognized global market. The evangelization and informational phase of previous years has transitioned into a piloting attitude as stakeholders gained knowledge on the applicability, impact, and benefits. Moreover, many early adopters started testing real use cases across the world.
The market maturation led to increased investments toward decentralized identity efforts, a proliferation in governments involved in user-centric identity proposals for their citizens, and progress made in regulations and standards.
Many governments and regulators included digital identity initiatives in their strategic agendas as part of their economic development and digital transformation priorities. So far, the European Union has taken the lead in promoting a legal and technical framework for digital identities, but other regions, such as Canada, are following closely.
In June 2021, the European Commission (EC) took a firm step toward digital identity a giant leap towards launching a trusted, secure digital identity for all European citizens with the announcement of the construction of a single European digital identity. For this purpose, a proposal was presented to amend the existing eIDAS regulation to fully align with the principles of decentralized identity.
This announcement triggered several key announcements in favor of Self-Sovereign Identity by strategic Member States, such as Germany, Spain, Finland, and the Netherlands.
As we see with European local governments, other nations such as Korea, Ethiopia, Canada, and India are already pioneering this technology in various use cases.
Self-sovereign identity technologies are becoming the linchpin of economic growth.
At GATACA, we work towards making SSI a realitynew eIDAS 2.0 proposal, which seeks to set a single legal framework for the mutual recognition of digital identities among European Union member states based on SSI principles.
In February 2023, the EU published the first version of the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) to provide a set of specifications needed to develop an interoperable European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet Solution based on common standards and practices.
Moreover, three major public tenders have been started by the EC - one for the development of Large Scale Pilots, a second one for the development of a reference Wallet, and a third one for the advancement of EBSI.
Gataca will participate in the Digital Credentials for Europe (DC4EU) consortium, focused on using the EU Digital Identity Wallet for three specific use cases: Identity, Social Security, and Education.
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