Meeting Customers Where They Are With DID Key
Verifiable Credentials (VCs) are the technology that finally lets us create digital versions of identification assets that are non-fungible, meaning they can’t be forged. This innovation is making waves in industries with complex supply chains that rely heavily on documentation to support multi-party collaborations. Adding VCs to an analog [paper] documentation in a way that extends the integrity and lifespan of the paper documentation would add tremendous value.
Even in an internet-enabled world, paper-based credentials retain some advantages — especially for scenarios involving classified material and legal documents. For example, “A Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility” [colloquially referred to as SCIF, pronounced skiff, by British and U.S. national security, defense and intelligence professionals] is an enclosed area within a building that is used to process certain types of classified information. In this case, using a paper-based credential issuance and processing system that is offline-capable helps protect the integrity of sensitive information and authenticate parties or documents in the SCIF.
On the other hand, documentation-heavy multi-party business transactions are still conducted largely on paper due to limited or no internet access can pose significant risks. A common example where paper-based credentials remain in use today are at ports; whether it’s maritime ports focused on moving cargo through customs or some of ports focused on immigration in more rural areas, access to wifi is often unreliable. In cases where a partially digital system is already in place, unpredictable internet access often means significant delays for goods and people entering/exiting the country.
Transmute meets customers where they are [even when they’re still using paper-based processes] to help companies manage their global network of vendors moving goods across borders. So far, we’ve established two approaches to combining decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), PDFs and paper to support offline operations:
1) Scannable Paper Verifiable Credentials
Make sure the VC has a DID in its ID, and ensure the credential plaintext is discoverable from resolving this DID.
Then simply output a QR code that contains the DID and embed it in the PDF as a clickable link and image.
2) PDF-based Decentralized Identifiers
Since it’s possible to encode private keys as QR Codes and store them in a PDF, we use these keys to create a DID — on a ledger or off one using methods like DID Key. The key material and the DID document can both be represented as QR Codes in a PDF.
Next, verifiable credentials can be issued associated with the DID Document, and encoded as QR Codes, or as DIDs — again using the first method described above.
Let’s look at an example of this when exporting goods across global supply chains. For instance, a Carrier responsible for the movement of goods might scan the QR code relating to the keysPDF, and then use that to generate the bill of lading for a shipment (acting as the issuer of the credential). The result is a cryptographically verifiable and traceable e-bill of lading that is inextricably linked to its DID document. A Shipper, Federal Authority, Importer, or other trade organization (acting as a verifier) can then scan the resulting paper representation of the verifiable credential, resolve the DID, and confirm the signature.
Lastly PDFs can be printed and rescanned with no loss of security [assuming the QR Codes are not made inoperable by the process].
Here’s a demo of our offline-capable progressive web app that combines did:key and PDFs:
