The time to build decentralized identity solutions is now

The inability to decisively prove who we are in the digital world is frustrating our ability to use the internet effectively and efficiently, not to mention safely, and in a way that enables us to trust the information we receive. Because we can’t trust the kinds of digital evidence people use when trying to prove who they are, like photos of documents and licenses, we are forced into cumbersome and problematic identity systems of profiles filled with any information a person chooses to supply, whether accurate or not.

This systemic problem begins with the failure to encode human identity into the way the internet works. No one imagined the trouble that would be caused by anonymity without accountability. The result is that we are living in a perpetually untrustworthy and costly state of online fraud, identity theft, and data exploitation.

The cost to continuing with these legacy identity systems is unsustainable. They can be patched, but they can’t be fixed. The architecture that creates, supports, and manages identity online needs to be fully replaced with an architecture that generates trust by the very nature of its design. Trust must be built in and not bolted on.

At Indicio we are committed to creating this new architecture of trust through decentralized identity. It’s what our customers need; it’s what their customers want; it’s what we believe in. Together, we are addressing the vulnerabilities of archaic centralized identity systems and the abuse of data that goes with them. We are now working to reform and repair a long history of internet businesses choosing to profit from this problem rather than develop a solution that delivers the fundamental right of an individual to control their own identity online.

While the decentralized identity community has been working, studiously, toward this goal, with the technology steadily maturing through the collaborative industry of open-source development, something happened that no one expected: COVID-19.

The global pandemic has changed the terms of digital identity. The world needs new technologies, now, to manage a workforce that has become decentralized through working from home, and which will—in some significant part—remain decentralized after the pandemic subsides. Continuous remote data exchange and repeated verification are the new normal. Touchless and contactless verification are the new normal. How do we manage the new normal while delivering privacy and security? Decentralized identity. Verifiable digital credentials.

How do we tackle the problem of travel or event attendance, proof of COVID-19 testing status, and hopefully sooner than later, proof of vaccination? Only decentralized identity can deliver a secure solution that protects people’s data privacy and satisfies data privacy regulation.

And these are just the most obvious and immediate use cases. The point is—it’s time to get building. That’s why we set up Indicio. Our goal is a one-stop expert shop for decentralized identity. You want a decentralized identity network? We can build that for you, we can run it for you, or we can teach you to run it yourselves.

We’ll help you explore how decentralized identity can solve your or your customers pain points. We’ll help you realize your proof of concept. We’ll work with you to get it into production.

Pandemics have always driven change. This one gives us an opportunity to do a lot of things better. We can deliver better products and services through decentralized identity. We can make life online less risky and more trustworthy. We can take the headache out of privacy regulation compliance.

And—in the process—we get to remake the internet into a more equal space. Verifiable digital credentials enable people to take control of their identities and their data in ways we just couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. This means liberation from having to give up your identity and your data in exchange for access to life online.

In short, decentralized identity means respect. And respecting the right to identity and privacy will put the internet on a fairer and more trustworthy foundation.

We think an identity solution that provides so much benefit to everyone—to both businesses and consumers—is a winning proposition. Get in touch with us if you want to start building that world.