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Best Articles on Digital Identity
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digital_identity_best_articles.md

Links to Best Articles on Digital Identity

Status & Copyright

Annotated, Curated, but not Sorted

RWOT1-SF Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (2015)

  • Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (2015). [workshop paper]. Slepak, Greg (co-lead); Reed, Drummond (co-lead); Allen, Christopher; Brock, Arthur; Buterin, Vitalik; Callas, Jon; Dorje, Duke; Lundkvist, Christian; Kravchenko, Pavel; Nelson, Jude; Sabadello, Markus; Thorp, Noah; Wood, Harlan T. from "Rebooting the Web of Trust 1, San Francisco, November 3rd-4th, 2015." Retrieved 2023-12-06 from GitHub/WebOfTrustInfo [PDF]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot1-sf/blob/master/final-documents/dpki.pdf; [docx]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot1-sf/blob/master/final-documents/dpki.docx.

    TAGS: #DecentralizedPKI #DigitalIdentity #PublicKeyInfrastructure #OnlineSecurity #SelfSovereignIdentity #Blockchain #Cryptography #InternetSecurity #DataPrivacy #DistributedSystems

    SHORT ABSTRACT: "This white paper presents a framework for a Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (DPKI), addressing the control and security issues associated with traditional third-party managed systems. DPKI leverages blockchain and other decentralized technologies to ensure that online identities and their associated public keys are managed directly by the entities they represent, enhancing both security and usability across the internet."

    KEY POINTS:

    • Centralization Issues: Highlights the problems with current centralized systems like DNS and X.509 PKI, where third parties control online identifiers.
    • Ownership and Control: Advocates for a system where identities are controlled by the entities they represent, not by centralized authorities.
    • Security Advantages: Describes how DPKI can enhance security through decentralized consensus mechanisms, reducing the risk of single points of failure.
    • Usability Improvements: Emphasizes the potential for improved usability, making secure communications more accessible for general users.
    • Blockchain Integration: Discusses the use of blockchains and other decentralized key-value stores to manage identities and public keys securely.
    • Public Key Management: Proposes methods for the decentralized generation, storage, and management of public keys, avoiding the pitfalls of current PKI systems.
    • Recovery Mechanisms: Introduces strategies for recovering lost or compromised identifiers, enhancing the resilience of the DPKI system.
    • Consensus Protocols: Explains the role of consensus protocols in maintaining the integrity and security of the decentralized infrastructure.
    • Implementation Challenges: Addresses potential challenges in implementing DPKI, including scalability and the need for widespread adoption.
    • Future Directions: Outlines future work needed to develop and standardize DPKI, including potential collaborations with standards bodies like the IETF.

    KEY QUOTES:

    • "Today’s Internet places control of online identities into the hands of third-parties. Email addresses, usernames, and website domains are borrowed or 'rented' through DNS, X.509, and social networks."
    • "The foundational precept of DPKI is that identities belong to the entities they represent. That requires designing a decentralized infrastructure where every identity is controlled not by a trusted third-party, but by its principal owner."
    • "DPKI focuses primarily on decentralized key-value datastores, called blockchains, but it is perfectly capable of supporting other technologies that provide similar or superior security properties."

    PERSONAL COMMENTARY:

    • (Christopher Allen): "In 2015, experts from various disciplines met at the 1st Rebooting Web of Trust in San Francisco to tackle obstacles hindering PGP's vision, which was nearing its 25th anniversary. We identified that the core issue was centralized identifiers like DNS names, ARIN IP addresses, ORCID, DOI, Twitter API Tokens, etc. These centralities enabled rent-seeking and censorship, as seen with Twitter limiting API tokens. We proposed a Decentralized Public Key Infrastructure (DPKI) as a solution, ultimatley leading to the W3C DID international standard and numerous other initiatives."

RWOT2-ID2020 Protecting Digital Identities in Developing Countries (2016)

  • Protecting Digital Identities in Developing Countries (2016). [workshop paper]. Hennessy-Barrett, Wayne (Author & Lead Paper Editor); Ruff, Timothy; Geater, Jon; Crocker, Dave; Haywood, Russ; Little, Kimberly; Piekarska, Marta; Mehrain, Thessy; Nasujo, Fatma; Young, Kaliya (Contributors). From "Rebooting the Web of Trust 2, New York City, September 21st-22nd, 2016." Retrieved 2023-12-06 from GitHub/WebOfTrustInfo [PDF]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot2-id2020/blob/master/final-documents/protecting-digital-identities-in-developing-countries.pdf; [docx]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot2-id2020/blob/master/final-documents/protecting-digital-identities-in-developing-countries.docx.

    TAGS: #DigitalIdentity #DevelopingCountries #IdentityProtection #Privacy #Security #DecentralizedIdentity #Blockchain #HumanRights #TechnologyAdoption #DataSovereignty

    SHORT ABSTRACT: "This paper discusses the challenges and potential solutions for protecting digital identities in developing countries. The authors emphasize the importance of privacy, security, and user control in digital identity systems. They propose decentralized identity solutions as a way to enhance data sovereignty and ensure that individuals in developing regions can securely manage their identities."

    KEY POINTS:

    • Challenge of Identity Management: Developing countries face significant challenges in managing digital identities due to limited infrastructure and resources.
    • Importance of Privacy and Security: Ensuring privacy and security in digital identity systems is crucial to protect individuals' personal information.
    • Decentralized Identity Solutions: Proposes the use of decentralized identity systems to enhance user control and data sovereignty.
    • Blockchain Technology: Highlights the potential of blockchain technology in creating secure and tamper-proof digital identity systems.
    • User Control and Data Sovereignty: Emphasizes the need for individuals to have control over their personal data and digital identities.
    • Human Rights Perspective: The protection of digital identities is linked to broader human rights issues, including the right to privacy and identity.
    • Implementation Barriers: Discusses the barriers to implementing decentralized identity solutions in developing countries, including technological, economic, and political challenges.
    • Case Studies: Provides case studies and examples of successful digital identity projects in developing regions.
    • Recommendations: Offers recommendations for policymakers, technologists, and civil society organizations on how to support the development and adoption of secure digital identity systems.

    KEY QUOTES:

    • "Ensuring that individuals in developing countries have control over their digital identities is not just a technological challenge but a fundamental human right."
    • "Decentralized identity solutions can provide a way to protect privacy and enhance security while empowering individuals with control over their personal data."
    • "Blockchain technology offers a promising approach to creating secure, transparent, and tamper-proof digital identity systems that can be particularly beneficial in resource-constrained environments."

    PERSONAL COMMENTARY:

    • (Christopher Allen): "At the first Rebooting the Web of Trust, Alicia Carmona presented an advance topic paper titled Real Life Application of WoT: Refugee Use Case. Although it did not become a final paper at RWOT1-SF, it was a significant topic of discussion throughout this first RWOT event. These discussions inspired us to collaborate with (and I become one of the organizers of) the inaugural UN conference on Digital Identity, ID2020, the following spring, resulting in this workshop paper. In turn, this paper inspired several important human-rights digital identity papers over the next few years, particularly the Joram and Amira use cases. These efforts attracted numerous experts from various governmental entities to future workshops, which funded much of the early proof-of-concept work that bootstrapped future decentralized identity efforts. Thus this paper became seminal to our advocacy of digital human and civil rights and our successes to date."

RWOT7-Toronto - Five Mental Models of Identity (2018)

  • Five Mental Models of Identity (2018). [workshop paper]. Andrieu, Joe (lead author); George, Nathan; Hughes, Andrew; MacIntosh, Christophe; Rondelet, Antoine. From "Rebooting the Web of Trust 7, Toronto, September 26-28, 2018." Retrieved 2023-12-06 from GitHub/WebOfTrustInfo [markdown]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot7-toronto/blob/master/final-documents/mental-models.md; [PDF]: https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot7-toronto/blob/master/final-documents/mental-models.pdf.

    TAGS: #IdentityModels #DigitalIdentity #PsychologicalRepresentations #IdentitySystems #InterdisciplinaryApproach #IdentityDiscussion #TechnologicalSolutions #IdentityConflicts #CollaborativeDesign #SystemApplicability

    SHORT ABSTRACT: This paper presents five distinct mental models observed in discussions about identity among technologists and laypeople. It explores the implications of these models on the design and understanding of identity systems, aiming to foster more effective communication and collaboration in the development of comprehensive identity solutions. The work emphasizes the importance of recognizing different perspectives to address a broad set of use cases and enhance the quality of identity systems.

    KEY POINTS:

    • Five Mental Models:
      • User-Centric Identity: Focuses on empowering users with control over their identity data and how it is shared.
      • Administrative Identity: Highlights the role of organizations in managing and verifying identities, often prioritizing institutional control.
      • Transactional Identity: Emphasizes identity in the context of transactions and interactions, where the primary concern is verifying identity for specific exchanges.
      • Networked Identity: Discusses the interlinked nature of identities across different systems and platforms, requiring interoperability and trust frameworks.
      • Decentralized Identity: Advocates for a distributed approach to identity management, leveraging blockchain and other decentralized technologies.
    • Use Case Scenarios: Provides various scenarios to illustrate the practical applications and implications of each mental model of identity.
    • Framework for Discussion: Aims to provide a common framework for discussing and comparing different identity models, facilitating better collaboration and innovation.

    KEY QUOTES:

    • "One’s preferred use cases establish mental models tailored to those uses, which in turn shape discussion and engineering of identity systems."
    • "Considering different mental models allows for constructive dialogue and reconciliation of requirements, creating opportunities to address a wider set of use cases."
    • "The differences between these mental models consistently cause confusion and disagreement when advocates of different models collaborate."
    • "Understanding and considering these different mental models will result in more fruitful collaboration and ultimately in better identity systems."
    • "The best identity solutions will come from a frank and open engagement where every individual’s, and every organization’s, needs are heard and considered."

    PERSONAL COMMENTARY:

    • (Christopher Allen): "After hosting six previous Rebooting Web of Trust design workshops, it became evident that participants approached digital identity issues with different perspectives and terminology. This paper excellently identified and untangled these varied mental models and provides practical advice for effective communication across them. It remains highly relevant today and should be required reading for all digital identity professionals."
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