A comprehensive look at the technology behind digital ID — and where ICONLOOP's DID work stands
We came across an article that gives a comprehensive look at DID technology, which has drawn even more attention as COVID-19 drags on, so we are sharing it here. You can read the details below, and we encourage you to read the full original through the link at the bottom of this post. We are also introducing ICONLOOP's DID milestones along the way — as a leading Korean blockchain company, we began developing DID technology, launching services, and refining them early on. We hope you will keep following and supporting the work.
ICONLOOP's DID milestones
■ 2018.11 Ⅰ First in Korea to register a DID Method in the W3C Method Registry
■ 2019.06 Ⅰ MyID designated an Innovative Financial Service by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), granting it special treatment under the financial regulatory sandbox ≫ Learn more
■ 2019.07 Ⅰ Launch of DPASS, a blockchain identity verification (DID) service ≫ Learn more
■ 2019.11 Ⅰ Lead organization of the MyID Alliance, Korea's largest DID consortium with roughly 86 partner companies ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.04 Ⅰ MyID passes the Financial Security Institute's security review
■ 2020.04 Ⅰ Participation in drafting the Financial Security Institute's decentralized ID standard ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.06 Ⅰ Participation in the FSC-led Financial Authentication Task Force ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.06 Ⅰ Participation in the 2020 Blockchain Technology and Industry Policy Forum hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.07 Ⅰ Participation in the public-private DID council organized by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.08 Ⅰ Launch of Zzeung, a DID identity verification service built on MyID ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.08 Ⅰ Korea's first DID issuance in the financial sector, with Shinhan Bank ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.11 Ⅰ DID applied via Zzeung to Gangwon Province's blockchain-based integrated chronic disease management platform ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.11 Ⅰ Blockchain DID technology applied to SK Telecom's IoT smart home service, NUGU Smart Home ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.12 Ⅰ DID issuance for Jeju Safe Code, the Jeju tourism quarantine system ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.12 Ⅰ MyID's Innovative Financial Service designation extended by two years ≫ Learn more
■ 2020.12 Ⅰ Zzeung mobile driver's license service granted provisional approval under the ICT regulatory sandbox ≫ Learn more
■ 2021.01 Ⅰ Blockchain-based Seoul citizen reporter IDs issued and linked to Zzeung ≫ Learn more
■ 2021.03 Ⅰ MyID platform-based access control system deployed at Orange Life headquarters ≫ Learn more
What Is a DID-Based 'Digital ID'?
Data stored in distributed, encrypted form using 'blockchain technology' — forgery and tampering impossible
Authentication by fingerprint, iris, or face — only the information actually needed is shared, minimizing exposure
Government introduces DID-based civil servant IDs as this year's pilot project
Driver's licenses to be built within the year, expanding to youth IDs and more by 2025
Global market growing 80% a year, with talk of 'vaccine passport' applications
Standardization work underway abroad — securing data reliability is 'the key'
As COVID-19 drags on, one technology has been drawing attention: decentralized identity (DID), the idea of creating a tamper-proof digital identity on top of blockchain technology. DID can be applied not only to digital IDs such as resident registration cards and driver's licenses, but also to the 'vaccine passports' being actively discussed around the world. We looked at what DID technology is, how the contest to claim Korea's DID ecosystem is playing out, and where the technology is headed.
1. What DID technology is
With DID, users can pick out only the information a given check requires, without over-exposing their personal data. For an age check, you can provide only the fact that you are an adult, without revealing your date of birth, resident registration number, or address. Information is also encrypted and stored on the user's smartphone, which makes it highly secure. Because DID can be used with biometric authentication — fingerprint, face, iris — there is no risk of personal data exposure even if the phone is lost. And because issuance and usage history is recorded on a distributed ledger where data cannot be forged or altered, access records are managed safely as well.
2. A contest to claim Korea's DID ecosystem
The global DID market will grow an average of 80% a year, approaching USD 3.454 billion (roughly KRW 3.85 trillion) by 2024
Market research firm Zion Market Research
Korea's DID market currently features several contenders: △ the MyID Alliance, led by blockchain technology company ICONLOOP; △ the Initial DID Association, led by SK Telecom with the other mobile carriers joining; △ the MyKeepin Alliance, led by blockchain technology company Coinplug; and △ the DID Alliance, centered on security firm Raonsecure. Through the first half of last year each consortium focused on recruiting member companies, but since the second half they have concentrated on producing real-world use cases.
3. DID-based digital IDs get underway
The government has selected the national digital ID project as a key task under its Digital Government Innovation Master Plan and Development Plan and the Korean New Deal Comprehensive Plan, and is pushing it forward. As the first pilot of the national digital ID project, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) began operating DID-based mobile civil servant IDs this January.
4. Why digital IDs are being introduced
As the digital transition moves most of daily life online, the need has grown for an ID that carries the same standing and trust in the digital world as a national ID does offline. MOIS accordingly gathered input from every sector and consulted a wide range of experts in order to introduce a safe, convenient digital ID that lets people trust each other online and prove that "I am me" — starting with the mobile civil servant ID earlier this year and now moving on to the mobile driver's license project.
5. How far digital IDs will expand
The digital ID is an integrated credential providing digital identity verification both online and offline. It was developed to work for offline in-person verification, offline remote verification, and online remote verification alike, and corresponding legal effect is to be granted to it. National ID digitalization went through ample stabilization and validation of the digital ID system through last year's mobile civil servant ID rollout and operation; this year the mobile driver's license is being built, with a public service launch planned for the end of the year. After that, the plan is to extend digitalization to disability registration cards, youth IDs, and other national IDs by 2025.
6. Why DID technology was adopted
With a DID-based digital ID, identity verification information is shared on a blockchain, so when it is used across multiple services, users can control and directly manage the scope of their personal data use according to their own free choice. Identity is also distributed and managed, reducing the risk of personal data exposure. That is why the government adopted DID technology for the digital ID.
7. Will DID technology bring a 'vaccine passport'?
As some countries administering COVID-19 vaccines push for 'vaccine passports' — certificates proving vaccination — DID technology is drawing attention as a way to prevent forgery of such passports. Israel, which has vaccinated faster than anywhere in the world and has nearly returned to normal life, uses the Green Pass, an app-based vaccination certificate built on QR codes; the consensus in the security industry is that a QR code certificate is hard to call 100% safe. China's vaccine passport likewise uses a QR code approach.
8. Where Korea stands on adopting and reviewing a vaccine passport
Since the concept has not settled internationally, Korea has not undertaken a full-scale review of a vaccine passport either. It is, however, issuing vaccination certificates with possible future use as a vaccine passport in mind. On the 16th, the government announced its intention to release an app for issuing and verifying electronic vaccination certificates. With an electronic vaccination certificate, someone who has been in close contact with an infected person can shorten their self-isolation period if a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test comes back negative. Once the number of vaccinated people grows to a certain scale, the certificate is expected to be usable for things like allowing gatherings of five or more at restaurants and attending crowded events.
9. The future of DID technology
Alongside biometric technologies such as fingerprint, iris, face, and vein recognition, DID is seen as one of the next-generation authentication technologies that will replace the public certificate. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, DID-related patent applications jumped from 14 in 2019 to 36 as of September last year. Some point out, though, that for DID to become part of everyday life, the problem of data reliability has to be solved. Once the reliability problem for offline data — harder to guarantee than online data — is resolved, DID technology is expected to take a broad place across daily life.
10. DID technology use cases abroad
Overseas, services built on DID technology have already gone mainstream. Estonia's digital ID and the UK's blockchain mobile ID YOTI are leading examples; YOTI has made age verification at convenience stores and similar places quick and easy. Canadian banks jointly operate a blockchain network through the blockchain identity verification service Verified.Me, which lets users verify their identity through a mobile app and use various financial services with ease. Centered on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international web standards body that a number of DID technology companies have joined, a DID standard that can be used worldwide is being established. The Trust over IP (ToIP) Foundation is preparing a DID standard compatible with the W3C criteria.
- Source: Munhwa Ilbo
- Original: http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2021042001031527099001
- What Is a DID-Based 'Digital ID'?
- Data stored in distributed, encrypted form using 'blockchain technology' — forgery and tampering impossible. Authentication by fingerprint, iris, or face — only the information needed is shared, so information..
- www.munhwa.com
Life Meets Blockchain, ICONLOOP