Metadium has been featured on Entrepreneur!
We are getting exclusive exposures on major media! Please read below to learn what Entrepreneur had to say about Metadium and how identity should evolve in the new era.
A New Solution for Management of Identities
The Internet as we know it is consistently evolving. In its earlier iterations, it was nothing more than a simple collection of static sites filled with text. From there, it evolved into the behemoth of data known as Web 2.0. Even without moving onto the next major iteration of networks, we are continually growing and shifting in many small ways, on our way towards Web 3.0.
However, glaring issues are standing in the way of Internet advancement and identity management is one such challenge. Identifying these problems and finding solutions to them will revolutionize our way of communication, so widespread adoption occurs.
Most forms of online activity require the submission and use of personal data. Many users find the sharing (and oversharing) of data harmless on services such as social networks, blogs, and other forms of communication. However, the importance of guarding personal identities is becoming more critical than ever, considering the rate at which data is being sold and stolen without the knowledge of the users themselves. This leads to the personal identification data of users needlessly, and often illegally existing on the databases of multiple companies.
Security Concerns
The online identity crisis leaves people wanting to only expose specific subsets of their identities as needed, without anything more.
According to the Breach Level Index, data records are lost or stolen at the following frequency:
- Every day: 4,690,462 records
- Every hour: 195,436 records
- Every minute: 3,257 records
- Every second: 54 records
It’s essential for individuals to be able to manage, secure, and utilize their personal data only under their own consent. It has been discussed a lot in the past but has yet to be realized. Real-world identity solutions will provide a remedy to the Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM). The CIAM market includes authentication, identity proofing, registration and other solutions related to management of consumer identities.
The CIAM market continues to expand and will have a profound role in the Web 3.0. The emergence of distributed ledger technologies and decentralized identity solutions will assuredly help to accelerate the growth of the market further. According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Identity and Access Management market is expected to reach $20.87 billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 14.8 percent over a forecast from 2016–2022.
When trying to secure a network, users run into a prevalent issue at the core of the market: Which security solution does one pick? The demand for better protection of personal data has certainly been met, with over 1,600 solutions, but it is impossible to buy and test them all out. Along with an overabundance of solutions also comes the problem of trust. Which solutions can businesses and consumers trust to offer guaranteed performance? Product capabilities can be purposely obscured by shady vendors, while some consumers may not have the proper knowledge to pass judgment. Moreover, security vendors typically amass collected data to further their own revenue streams rather than provide transparency.
Virtual Identity
A considerable amount of security is spent trying to obscure one’s real identity online. Identity theft can be one of the worst forms of cyber attacks, allowing attackers to gain access to all of an individual’s digital assets. In the age of data, our identities are extremely valuable to large companies as well. They build extensive profiles using scattered data extracted without permission for advertising and marketing. Our identities are completely controlled by a central authority, which is vulnerable to undesired leaks.
There are several ways to combat and prevent identity theft. Looking for old accounts and software to delete will minimize vectors through which you will be able to be attacked. Understanding how attacks work will also better help one understand how to stay protected. Two-factor authentication will make it much harder for unauthorized parties to gain access to data. Finally, using secure infrastructure and encryption will ensure attackers are unsuccessful.
Metadium is a project that aims solve such problems with blockchain technology and provide the next-generation identity protocol. The blockchain-based ecosystem gives users control of their own personal information and enables them to provide data only with their consent. Users are encouraged to build and incorporate their virtual identity with mundane identity in a secure environment.
Users can also utilize their Meta ID with other platforms and services as well as maintain control of all CRUD (create, read, update, delete) operations of their identity. Metadium enables users to share precisely what they want when they want. It uses a decentralized PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), permitting individuals to trust the integrity of their virtual identities securely. Metadium incorporates several innovative patents into its blockchain architecture including a new certificate issuance system, a physical unclonable function (PUF) private key manager, biometric authentication, smart contract certificate services, and a method for identifying users on the blockchain through a Merkle Tree structure.
The Future of the Internet
Web 3.0 won’t come easily, but we’re getting closer to it. Perfect solutions rarely exist, but once a semblance of it has been found, it will naturally usher in a new age of communication technology. Cybersecurity has a vast amount to improve on, and entrepreneurs and tech-savvy investors should bear in mind that when it comes to changes in cyberspace, the ball is in their court. Decentralized solutions such as Metadium serve to be the most efficient way for users to safeguard their identities.
