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. I use Signal on my phone to chat securely and privately with friends; naturally I…

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. It is an important feature for many use cases, and it’s been the…

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…