Delegation Exists in The Real World, So Why Not In Our Digital Worlds … Meet Delegated Anonymous Credentials (DACs)

Bob has to submit his passport for an application for a Professorship at the University of Life, but is travelling. And so he calls up the relevant government agency for his passport verification ID, and then sends this to Carol. He then asks her to print it out, and to give it to a courier to deliver. It arrives on time, and the university is happy with this verification. This is the world of trust that we live in. Bob trusts Carol and the courier to delegate things for him.

Imagine a digital world where rather than you having to continually prove your age, your address, or even the registration number of the car that you drive, that someone else that you trust can pass on the proof for you. It would be a world of trust — a bit like our real world. In a digital world, though, there is very little sense of delegation.

We give away a little too much information within our on-line world. Every time we have to prove something, we often have to give away a whole lot of information about ourselves. When I show someone my passport, they can plainly see my date of birth, and my address. This leaks information out that should be private, as all the person should see if I am a UK citizen or not, and not where I live, my age, and so on.