New to self-sovereign identity? Looking to learn more? I’ve made you a list of this week’s top five reads along with brief summaries to help you keep tabs on the latest developments, thought leaders, and innovations in the digital identity world.

  1. Why We Need Decentralized Identity by Anonyome Labs- 5/20/20

TL:DR

  • The internet began with standards for networked communication, but lacked a robust identity framework capable of allowing users to control their data. Advertising became the  principle revenue-driver of the internet and this led to the monetization of personal data.

  • The reason for this is because personal data can be used to improve targeted advertising. These massive data banks become targets for bad actors, who often seek private information to be used for financial and identity fraud.

  • A decentralized identity is anchored to a public blockchain, which makes it verifiable by third parties, and eliminates the need for those third parties to know and store the identity attributes of the users.
  1. Decentralized Marketplaces: Self-Sovereign Identities enable Peer-to-peer trading by Venu Reddy- 5/16/20, LinkedIn

TL:DR

  • Third-party services tried to fill the “trust gap” on the internet by providing platforms designed to create trust in digital transactions. However, these third-party services store your personal information and often use it without your explicit consent. Blockchain technology is an alternative way to bridge the “trust gap” because it  eliminates the need for the middleman.

  • Self-sovereign identities make it possible for peer-to-peer interactions on and offline, making it possible for users to prove their identity directly to the service provider or transaction partner without the use of a third party.

  • Decentralized marketplaces can be used for more than the exchange of traditional goods. Their use can extend to the exchange of loyalty points, securities, and commodities
  1. Identity in a Circular Future by Carsten Stöcker- 5/20/20, Medium

TL:DR

  • Decentralized identity will play a major role in the shift towards a circular global economy —an economic system aimed at the continual reuse of resources and elimination of waste.

  • Distributed ledger technology solves many of the supply chain accounting problems created by current linear accounting practices that ignore the finite nature of Earth’s resources.

  • Large corporations are often unable to see into their own supply chains due to their size, confidentiality agreements, and tiered communication. Creating an “identity for manufactured things” along their life-cycle will lead to increased transparency and more sustainable consumption.
  1. Protecting Your Identity: How to Keep Control of Your Digital Twin by Rene Hendrikse- 4/31/20, Forbes

TL:DR

  • As the world’s digital presence has increased over the past three months, cyber-attacks have too. The importance of controlling one’s digital identity has become more apparent as our physical and digital worlds become more intertwined.

  • Beyond usernames, passwords, and biometrics, consumers remain confused about what a digital identity actually entails. Additionally, 76 percent  of consumers are “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” about the possibility of having their identity stolen.

  • Governments and large corporations have, over the past few years, been the victims of major data breaches and cyberattacks, enforcing the idea that centralized data handlers are incapable of fully-protecting our digital identities.

5. The Remote Work Renaissance Will Demand Decentralized Technology by Noam Levenson- 5/12/20, Cointelegraph

TL:DR

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the working world to rapidly adapt, and many of these changes will likely be permanent. The global embrace of remote work has led companies to rethink their current remote work policies.

  • The rapid shift to hosting sensitive meetings and work operations online has exposed the weaknesses and pitfalls of existing digital services. A major issue is the lack of uniform digital identity standards, making it difficult to confirm online identities.

  • The mass-migration online presents enormous opportunities for blockchain-based projects, specifically those whose services include permissioned environments and digital identity solutions.


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