OWN Insights Twitter Spaces Review: Four key points of DID implementation with Microsoft Web3 Researchers
Through blockchain technology and user behavior verification, DID is providing trust foundation for Web3 communication
Since the launch of OWN Infrastructure, Ontology has released multiple issues of Insights blogs and Twitter Spaces to share thoughts around the blossoming space that is trust infrastructure.
In this article, we review the first OWN Insights Twitter Spaces. The event featured Shrey Jain (@shreyjaineth), a well-known Microsoft Web3 researcher, to discuss “the path to Web3 Identity building”.
Shrey has in-depth insights into the field of decentralized identity (DID) and has authored several well-known papers and research reports, such as the recently released ‘A Plural Decentralized Identity Frontier: Abstraction v. Composability Tradeoffs in Web3’, with professional and in-depth research on the construction of decentralized identity and the realization of verifiable credentials.
Here are some of the highlights:
In Web3, communication is changing in a very meaningful way.
What are the key elements we need to transmit information externally? Tracing the history of communications, it is essential to have a trusted transmitter — one who can deliver information accurately, without looking at it, and without tampering with it. So, for the Internet, the transfer of trust requires that the communication protocol has some form of assurance that the information will not be interfered with along the way and that privacy will be guaranteed. However, in the current environment of the Web2 network, this demand is often not achieved, and a lot of personal privacy information is exposed in the communication process, such as personal identity, hobbies, and needs.
In response, cryptographic primitives are being used in Web3 to promote privacy protection and anti-censorship. For example, zero-knowledge proof technology can encrypt information and set a specific public key to unlock it, so as to achieve the purpose of information protection. In this way, Web3 communications can be more trusted — establishing secure delivery without manipulation or privacy violations. Before that, it is also crucial that the source of the information (the person) can be trusted, which will be achieved based on DID.
Four key goals that Decentralized Identity is achieving.
First we have privacy. Through verifiable credentials (VC), DID allows users to only provide relevant credentials instead of identity data on the premise of completing identity authentication, avoiding information collection and disclosure in the transmission process or at the receiving end.
Secondly, resistance to censorship. Combined with cryptography (zk) to encrypt identity data, a DID identifier is used to replace the real identity in the network, and users are allowed to construct multiple identities to achieve identity isolation.
Thirdly, there is interoperability with smart contracts. The universality of the DID specification enables the identity system to be integrated by various applications and platforms. Users need to use DID to fetch smart contracts to participate in DAOs, NFT activities, social interactions, and other on-chain interactions.
Finally, self-management. The identity data and VCs set by DID are owned and managed by users. Any party without a private or public key cannot read and manage DID and related data.
Among the above four key points, privacy and interoperability with smart contracts are the requirements that DID must meet, and they are also the preconditions for DID to achieve large-scale application. In particular, interoperability with smart contracts will promote the use of DID as a key identity account system in all fields of Web3.
From a sociological and non-technical perspective, network interaction can be used as proof of identity for verification.
When people collaborate in Web3, trust will be the key to making it work continuously and smoothly. This is one of the main reasons why building a “de-trust” solution into Web3 is getting a lot of attention. Therefore, for the public or non-technical people, we have to answer the question of how to prove identity and build a trust network? You don’t need KYC or biometrics to identify a person. As a social person, the accumulation of their interactive behaviors will also form their unique personality identity.
Therefore, it is also possible to establish a person’s accurate and true identity without disclosing personal privacy data through the user’s network behavior and the people who interact with them. Based on this certificate, others can trust the holder’s corresponding partial identity; The holder can obtain the trust of others in this respect by providing the proof. Currently, this set of logic has been implemented in the DID scheme. In both W3C’s DID recommendation standard and Ontology ONT ID framework, a scheme for individuals to verify the identity of others and form trusted credentials has been implemented.
Namely, DID holders authentication can not only be others’ authenticator, but also invite others to verify their identities, the identity credential that has been validated will be recorded in the blockchain. This credential will serve as part of the holder’s identity in the network, providing a source of trust. This is part of the first OWN Insights Twitter Spaces.
For more discussion, you can access the full Twitter Spaces.
OWN (Ontology Web3 Network) Infrastructure is a series of blockchain protocols and products that provides the much needed tools to create an interconnected, interoperable global blockchain ecosystem. The infrastructure is bringing trust, privacy, and security to Web3 applications through decentralized identity and data solutions.
Aimed at allowing Web3 developers to quickly build Web3 applications, saving them from creating basic functions from scratch, OWN includes the Ontology blockchain, ONT ID framework and more. Individuals can also seamlessly and quickly access Web3 through products such as ONTO Wallet.
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