Industry Ideas

SSI: More than just Blockchain

Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) is a system architecture guiding tech choices, not a software or service. It prioritizes the individual, allowing them to control their own information. Blockchain technology, as a decentralized database with data spread across nodes, seems a fit for SSI as it ensures accuracy and security. However, it has limitations like being computationally expensive and complex. Various alternatives like Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and OpenID for Verifiable Credentials exist. SSI is about control over digital identities, which is not solely dependent on blockchain technology.

Industry Ideas

Standards, Browsers, and Identity Wallets

The W3C is becoming more involved in the digital identity credential and wallet space due to the growing use of web browsers for various digital activities. This involvement includes addressing how browsers interact with identity wallets. An incubation effort is taking place within the Web Incubator Community Group (WICG) to investigate these issues and establish standards.

Industry Ideas

Comparing Federated Logins and Passkeys: Which One Fits Your Needs?

(Spoiler Alert: the answer might be “both”!) This is a slightly technical article trying to capture how two different types of authentication mechanisms, federated login and passkeys, compare. Despite how similar they might look to the user because of the design of the login page, they are ultimately quite different things! When websites require you… Continue reading Comparing Federated Logins and Passkeys: Which One Fits Your Needs?

Deep Thoughts

Navigating the Intersection of Privacy Laws and Technical Standards

For the last three months, I've been working on a white paper, "Government-issued Credentials and the Privacy Landscape." This paper aims to inspire thought and provoke useful conversations about enhancing online privacy between people setting privacy laws and regulations and people writing technical standards. The paper is still a Work In Progress, though realistically speaking,… Continue reading Navigating the Intersection of Privacy Laws and Technical Standards