The decentralized identity / SSI space is troubled by persistent misunderstandings about the overlaps between important technologies: OpenID Connect (OIDC), CHAPI, Decentralized Web Nodes (DWNs) [and similar members of the secure storage family], and DIDComm. Sometimes these are described as competing solutions. I think that’s unhelpful. They do compete for…

(TL;DR) Data about individual people is special — not in raw computation, but in the ethical implications it carries. The current W3C data model for credentials grafts such data into the Semantic Web in a way that I consider dangerous. When this is ignored, people are objectified. This is not…

A notable critique of Hyperledger Indy, Hyperledger Aries, and AnonCreds was published by Kaliya Young (Identity Woman) last week. The post surfaces an important topic and contains some truth worth telling. I salute Kaliya for that, and for the honorable intentions behind her writing. However, the post also contains some…

Why portable security is the sleeper — but killer — feature for SSI — I just got a new mobile phone and phone number. You can guess the hoop-jumping that ensued as I installed apps and updated dozens of account profiles. One adjustment on my to-do list was Signal. …

DIDs are normally assumed to be rooted in a public source of truth like a blockchain, a database, a distributed file system, or similar. This publicness lets arbitrary parties resolve the DIDs to an endpoint and keys. …

A Simplified Look At a Complex Topic — Co-authored by Jason Law We all know that identity matters. We hear about cybersecurity breaches, GDPR, refugees, deep fakes, and election fraud. Each headline highlights a new way that identity impacts us. Yet we may be accepting naive assertions about what identity actually means. Some equate identity with authentication. Others…