iTrue: the Future of Decentralized Digital Identities and Blockchain
The world is undergoing a global digital transformation where digital and physical realities are blurred into a single integrated way of life. As a result, many companies, including Microsoft, is looking towards blockchain technology to build a new world model for digital identity, one that enhances individual privacy and security across the physical and digital world.
The Problem with Digital Identities Today
In the past, it was nearly impossible to prove your identity to the rest of the world at a large scale. Today, with the advent of large identity providers such as Facebook and Google, it has become much easier to verify identities to third parties around the world. Despite the progress, the current model of identity management has some fundamental flaws:
- Users do not own their data
In the digital world we live in, users must trust a few identity providers with their information and grant access to third party applications to access their identity profile. This model requires us to blindy trust that centralized identity authorities will not misuse our data. Today, nearly all third-party applications today require some level of access to your Facebook or Google accounts. Furthermore, you have no control over what data you grant companies access to. In an ideal world, users should be in control of their own identity and providers should focus on asserting claims about specific identities.
- Not universally discoverable
Identity management solutions are mostly based on authentication and access control models enabled by centralized providers and other identity authentication apps. In other words, identity is less about what you have access to and more about who you are. In addition, each time you download a new app or enter a new location you are required to re-confirm and re-authenticate your identity. A next-generation identity platform should provide an organic model where a user can be verified universally across multiple providers.
2. Google, Amazon, and Facebook know too much
It should come as no surprise that Google, Amazon and Facebook combined know more about your identity than the government, banks or your employer. These three companies cover the major pillars of our digital lives: Internet (Google), Ecommerce (Amazon) and Social (Facebook). By trusting these entities with complete control over our digital identities we become vulnerable to exploitation in different ways that can benefit companies and governments. For example, a firm called Cambridge Analytica harvested 50 million Facebook profiles to target American voters during Trump’s presidential campaign.
What is iTrue’s Vision?
In order to address some of the aforementioned challenges, iTrue is combining blockchain and biometric technologies to improve authentication experience and enhance platform security. With iTrue, users have complete control over their confidential personal data, and biometric authentication enables secure and seamless access to digital assets and even physical facilities, like a car or house. Since iTrue gives notifications where users’ data is being used, enterprises are able to integrate privacy controls into their applications, thus helping businesses comply with the European GDPR regulations. By implementing a blockchain approach, users and businesses are assured of a robust and scalable infrastructure wherein their records are secure and safe from data theft or misappropriation.
What is iTrue Planning to Deliver?
iTrue’s vision for decentralized identities is still in its early stages. In collaboration with other vendors, iTrue is actively working on the following initiatives to enable a new wave of decentralized identity management protocols and solutions:
· Biometric authentication — a system that recognizes the eye iris, hand veins and facial features with live detection in authenticating users for access to large-scale enterprise systems.
· Stone Storage — a unique data storage feature whereby personal information is stored separately from its record of transaction and can be divided into different levels and stages. This allows users to decide which information to share with which party, thus being in complete control of sensitive information yet enjoying the ease and convenience of biometric-based authentication.
· API integration — a new API for machine-human interaction, wherein no gadgets are needed, and which can be used by the public, including commercial companies and new startups. The platform includes a permissioned blockchain with a high speed of execution of operations, defined levels of access to confidential information, and an opportunity to build both geo-dependent and geo-independent services.
· ID Verification (IDV) — a system that does not require the need to store data on personal devices. Simple KYC can be implemented through iTrue’s platform. Users can pass the KYC procedure using their mobile phone, PC or an authorized partner terminal.
In more practical terms, rather than grant broad consent to countless apps and services, and have their identity data spread across numerous providers, iTrue wants to offer individuals a secure encrypted digital hub where they can store their identity data and easily control access to it.
iTrue is a Blockchain-as-a-Service solution with a built-in authentication system with biometrics as its core microservice, enabling enterprises and developers to build secure, scalable and extensible applications. Enabling this kind of self-sovereign digital identity is bigger than any one company or organization. However, iTrue is committed to working closely with the community to unlock the next generation of digital identity-based experiences.
