Decentralized Identities — The Impact of Machines & Things
The Internet is getting bigger by the minute. We may not observe it, but it sure is.
Every day, millions of devices and machines (generally referred to as IoT) are joining the Internet.
A sea of devices, actively joining the Internet and shaping the future of the Internet.
From Smart Devices that measure metrics, to devices that make decisions on our behalf, these devices are everywhere. They are becoming more and more pervasive. We’ve got a LOT of things to start paying attention to.
Sensors in Personal Devices? Check.
Sensors in Public Utilities (e.g. street lights, garbage cans)? Check.
Sensors in Manufactured Materials? You bet.
Sensors in Roads? New, but Production ready.
Sensors in Automobiles? Triple Check.
It is only a matter of time before these devices start taking actions on our behalf. The question is, how much are we willing to let them control.
Trusting devices, or authorizing access to your Identity on an as-needed basis will become an important problem to solve.
For e.g., medical devices collect data from sensors connected to the patient and drop this data into an intelligent platform which could alter our health profiles and potentially lead to critical decisions on our health. How do we securely grant access to this data on an as-needed basis? How do we control what is being shared, and more importantly, how much is being shared?
No Inherent TRUST Protocol on the Internet
This is the fundamental problem. The Internet as we know it was not built with a “TRUST” mechanism.
As mentioned in my earlier post, there are efforts underway to manage Identity in a decentralized fashion. An important part of this protocol also applies to devices.
Devices and systems could be granted access to encrypted information stored in so called Identity hubs on an as-needed basis. This information could also be leased for a specified period of time (depending upon the nature of the application).
You as an Individual (or an Entity) will be able to decide what to share, when to share and how much to share. This reduces compliance and legal risks.
Ownership Laws Murky
The Identity data ownership and delegation laws are still unresolved and at the best, murky.
Imagine if you were in a car, and your car is in an accident and it hits a pedestrian to save you from life-threatening damage. Who is right? Should you be held legally responsible for hitting the pedestrian? Or your car? Or the company that wrote the program that made the car make the decision? These are fundamental questions that are posing some moral and legal challenges in our society.
While these do not have to do much with access to Identity, they will eventually shape the architecture around which such Identity access systems are developed.
Are we ready for World Scale?
If CryptoKitties can bring down the Ethereum network, think about what millions of devices could do.
There’s almost a need for a Layer 2 protocol that probably run off-chain and on top of many of the most prevalent Blockchains to prevent overwhelming the networks.
New Models Emerge
As a result of these patterns, new business models are emerging. Here are some problems that we will need to solve (and quickly):
- How do we reliably and securely replicate Identity data across various Identity hubs?
- How do we sync data between multiple Identity Hubs on an as needed basis?
- How do devices discover our Identity Hubs?
- How do we prevent data-loss?
- How do we as individuals make money when we grant someone access to our data?
- How do we trust someone requesting our data? Are they verified in a marketplace? How do we DISCOVER more about devices requesting our data?
If you’re an Entrepreneur, these should get you excited. The canvas is blank and ready for the next masterpiece.
We at HyperTrends feel that there’s more here to accomplish as a community than it is for a single entity or a corporation. We would love for you to join our discussion to enable mass-adoption of Blockchain technologies. We are investigating into strategies to enable Identity management using Blockchains to begin with. We think this is an important problem to solve because all the other pieces are built on top of this important block.
References:
- https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2018/02/12/decentralized-digital-identities-and-blockchain-the-future-as-we-see-it/
- https://github.com/decentralized-identity/hubs/blob/master/explainer.md
- https://medium.com/@iotasuppoter/iota-the-case-of-decentralized-digital-identity-de7b95042c12
- Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/cPF2nlWcMY4
