Digital Identity

Identity (ID) in a digital world is unlike the real world. Proving identity is a routine part of modern life. People use driving licences, passports, credit cards, bankcards, library cards and a range of other cards to access buildings, pay for products and services, vote, apply for a loan, get married or engage with government and banks.

Online, people use passwords, and sometimes biometrics such as fingerprints and facial or iris recognition software.

Trusting that "you are who you say you are" is possible in small communities where everybody know everybody else.  But in the bigger world many of our relationships are anonymous and the relational basis for trust breaks down. Today many relationships and transactions are digital, and our partners are present only virtually. Identity creates the basis for trust and inclusion in democracies and societies.

There are three main ways of proving an identity. One involves something you know - a password, or a unique identifier such as mothers maiden name. The second method is with something you have, such as a key or a smart card. The third method is by authenticating you physically through some aspect of biology - DNA, fingerprints, facial recognition, voiceprints or iris scan.

Many people and many online systems now use a mixture of email address, Facebook or Google accounts as authentication. Blockchain offers a way to turn the issue of identification on its head, by creating a unique digital passport for an individual that is owned and managed by the individual. The identity is then encrypted into the blockchain and used as the primary reference for all relationships - business, social, legal, financial and government.

What is a digital identity?

As an individual, you identify yourself in many ways. Your name, address, age, profession and more. Think of all the ways you identify yourself, just how much of your personal identifiable information do you control?