Widespread Adoption of Self-Sovereign Identity in the Wake of COVID-19

• Toshendra Kumar Sharma
• October 19, 2020

Heard of Blockchain-based identity management? Wondering what SSI is all about? Why is SSI making noise around the COVID-19 pandemic? If your answer is probably yes, you have landed on the right page. 

 

Table of Contents

 

• What are Decentralized Identity Solutions?
• Why Consider Self-Sovereign Identity?
• SSI Widespread Adoption During COVID-19 Pandemic 
• Concluding Lines

 

 What are Decentralized Identity Solutions?

 

In the physical world, which is full of hackers and authorized activities, we take the sharing of credentials for granted. In this modern era of digitization, the traditional identity systems possess various downfalls in terms of vulnerability to attacks, high expenses, and tedious process. To drive well in a digitized society, it is vital to securely authenticate our digital identities. Unlike traditional systems, digital identity solutions such as self-sovereign identity(SSI) help individuals to control how their identities are shared and accessed without involving any third-party intermediaries.

 

Using distributed ledger technology such as Blockchain to decentralize identity is all about digital validation and keys where digital wallets are secured by cryptographic keys that cannot be recreated. The concept of Blockchain-based digital identity solutions is proving to be the most reliable as it is putting the power back in the hands of the people.

 

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Why Consider Self-Sovereign Identity?

 

 Since identity is a fundamental part of society, having sole ownership of our digital identities and control over how our personal data is accessed is extremely crucial.

Self-sovereign identity, also known as SSI, fosters digital movement and enables individuals to control their identity without the intermediary authorities. It allows people to interact with the same freedom and trust as they do in the offline environment. Since trusting third parties to securely hold our personal data is precarious, SSI brings the same freedom and personal liberty to the internet. Instead of giving control of personal information to dozens of databases, it allows individuals to control how their identities are managed at the global level.

 

SSI Widespread Adoption During COVID-19 Pandemic 

 

The deadly coronavirus pandemic has defiled all continents. The COVID-19 Credentials Initiative (CCI) is working on a digital certificate that allows individuals to use the recently accepted W3C Verifiable Credentials standard that indicates they have recovered from the outbreak. 

 

As we already mentioned, SSI provides a layer of confidence and protection instead of relying and trusting on a third-party to store personal data by safely placing the personal data of an individual in their hands. Interest in SSI has dramatically increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading companies and innovators in the industry are working on digital certificates. Pandemic has caused a lot of economic loss but to subsidize, governments are trying to reopen economic activities. In efforts to that, solutions to present and carry our accurate digital health information details have been emerging. Top organizations are working aggressively for developing confidential and secure methods of certifying COVID-19 test results. Such results will enable all organizations to get back to their work and resume their operations confidently. 

Digital certificates are also being issued to individuals, letting them prove their health conditions and allowing them to prove that they have recovered from the disease. 

 

Such health passports, also known as Immunity Passports, could serve as verifiable proof that individuals have developed antibodies, which they can present, allowing them to go back to their workplaces and other areas of their interest. The basic idea behind such passports is to link the individual’s identity with their Covid-19 test status. 

 

Apart from the health domain, SSI can be implemented for various other use cases such as accessing financial and government services, enrolling in an academy, and others. Moreover, SSI can even replace government-issued cards and would remove the risk of user credentials with logging into websites.

 

Concluding Lines 

 

While Blockchain developers and experts race to create digital certificates that will allow people to prove if they have recovered, there are few considerations. Few believe that such digital certificates or immunity passports could interfere with their human rights and civil liberties, and the other major factor is the lack of accurate results of the pandemic. Still, there is no scientific evidence about the accuracy of antibody-mediated immunity to ensure the correctness of immunity passports. 

 

Blockchain has proved its success in many real-world applications and can be applied to support coronavirus outbreak fighting as well. It’s for sure that a secure and user-friendly decentralized identity will help people at all levels. SSI is introducing a new identity system that gives you control and preserves privacy.

 

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