Edmund Lowell: This is a really important question. The two sided marketplace is a tough egg to crack - however, ESelfKey has a good head start with a functional, working marketplace in several verticals, with a number of service providers! When compared to some competitors who also claim to have a marketplace, ESelfKey has more products and services available in a functional, working marketplace. For instance, users can set up a bank account (in 14 different countries), open a company in 11 different countries, get an exchange account, and soon users can get a crypto loan, where we compare lots of different companies. This is a good start, now to get users! More on this covered in other questions.

What are your strategies in building a big and strong community? Do you agree that the power of the community will lead your project to grow globally?

EL: An active and engaged community is fundamental to the success of ESelfKey. The question here is what are the strategies to build a big and strong community? There is no one strategy, but we employ many, probably this post would be very long to explain them all, so let's stick to three core ideas - 1) traffic 2) education 3) conversion. 

1) Traffic

First and foremost, we need to get people to the ESelfKey website and wallet. This is done through a number of different traffic strategies; a favorite is SEO. Search engine optimization is a longer term strategy based on writing content, and ranking for specific keywords in search engines like Google. 

Although it takes time, the ROI (return on investment) from SEO is historically quite good, and we are already starting to see dividends. For instance, search traffic has grown about 4x in just this year alone. For SEO, there are writers who have a sole focus on long form content strategy and keyword targeting. 

2) Education

Nextly, once users are on the ESelfKey website, they need to be educated on what the project is, why the product might solve their problems, and how it might be a good solution for the job they need to get done. We are constantly working to improve the website, and just translated it into Chinese. We have social links and encourage users to subscribe to mailing list, join our telegram, and other community channels to further their education. 

3) Conversion

SelfKey’s current website comes after an iteration of 4 or 5 previous websites where we are constantly working to get the messaging right, and for users to perform the next, and arguably most important task: convert into long term users! We need to convert website traffic and casually interested users into ESelfKey Wallet users. We believe that crypto wallets will become even more important in the future, and what makes the ESelfKey Wallet unique, is that it is also an identity wallet. There is no one thing which achieves conversion, but as we mentioned already - it's important to have traffic, and educate that traffic - a certain amount of which will always convert. Next we use a blend of quantitative and qualitative strategies to help build conversions. 

For instance, there are a few community admins who are spread across time zones of the Americas, Europe and Asia to be there to clean out spam. Another good strategy is testing and optimizing the website and applications to improve conversions with iterations with split testing. 

We absolutely agree that the power of the community can lead ESelfKey to grow - the success of the project depends on the community! That's why we routinely ask for feedback, and feature requests - these requests were automatically prioritized and made the top features in the next development release. Your efforts as a community are the most important thing to make ESelfKey succeed - keep up the good work everyone!

The Exchanges Marketplace is great, are there plans to get this in front of new crypto users as an on boarding platform to help navigate the crypto space and exchanges with one click sign up?

EL: Thanks for your comments on the Exchanges Marketplace - we do plan to do much more marketing for the Exchanges Marketplace in particular - first driving traffic, then educating users on various exchanges and the different advantages they bring, and finally, providing an easy way to sign up for the exchanges which is quicker, faster and easier than traditional methods. Also the idea of API integration for in-app trading has come up a lot - but more work needs to be done on this, in particular better ways of managing the funds, so they are non-custodial (some projects are already doing this for instance Kucoin).

In comparison to the other competitors in the blockchain identity space, how is the ESelfKey team feeling about its development and targets?

EL: Although we do pay attention to competitors products, we feel that it's actually better when competitors succeed! Here's why: decentralized identity is a paradigm shift - there needs to be a change in basic consumer behavior and demands on companies. Companies need multiple choices of vendors and will likely avoid vendor locking.

Therefore, we most likely want and need multiple companies to succeed. This will help from an adoption standpoint, and technically should make it easier to acquire users, as properly designed DID's are interoperable. This means a bigger pie for all to share. 

In conclusion, we are different armies fighting the same war. If "A rising tide lifts all boats" then Self Sovereign identity is a tidal wave that will impact lots of different industries, should it be demanded by consumers!

How do you maintain motivation amongst the team?

EL: The ESelfKey team is a really talented group of individuals who all believe in the mission, so many of the team members come to work ready to do what they love, and to work on a project and in a direction they believe in. However, motivating a team to perform is something which good leaders do consistently in any company, team, organization or group setting.  

One small thing we have done for the past few years is to have a weekly teamwide meeting each week, called a level 10 meeting. During this meeting we share various successful updates. Hearing teammates talk about their big and small wins is really motivating. Next we go into any important company wide news and goals for the next cycle. Previously we had 1 quarter goals, but crypto moves so fast! Therefore we shortened our sprint cycle to 6 week "bets". 

Next up in the meeting, we go through culture points/fun questions. This is where we ask everyone to answer (in advance) a question related to how their culture might be different, or just a fun, open ended question. Recent examples: "How late is considered to be late, in your country?", "How do you say hello in your country?", and "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" We don't want to spend too much time on this, we'd rather be writing software! But we do spend some time each meeting bonding and learning about the personality of our team members. 

Finally, we wrap up with quotes from our #Quotes channel - and call on various teammates to explain why they selected that quote from a famous person, and what they interpret it to mean. Every quarter we try to have a small team meetup in a region (like Europe) and every year we have a global meetup - we try to post pictures of the meetups here in Telegram. 

Also one really recent thing we did with COVID-19 is have a workout challenge. We post pictures/videos of us working out from home, since it's really tough to go to the gym! I read recently that one company got a huge return on investment for investing in employees physical fitness, they got $8 back for every 1$ invested!

Will we be able to buy KEY with fiat?

EL: Based on user feedback, this is being prioritized. This service needs to be provided by a fiat<->crypto onramp. And we are trying to find the right partners. Right now what we've found is a service where users should be able to purchase ETH directly from a bank transfer, and then swap into KEY. Exact implementation details TBD but we've identified several regulated partners who could provide this service, and who have API's. We may need to integrate with several providers or there won't be global coverage.

The crypto market is vast and widely diverse: what makes you unique or what makes you different from others?

EL: From a product perspective, we are always looking to try and meet unmet needs in the Marketplace. If someone else is doing it, usually we won't pursue this idea. ESelfKey places a huge emphasis on innovation and doing things differently, and we hope that shines through. This could be reflected in our industry first Marketplace, the separate R&D team who focuses on innovation, or the uniqueness of our Marketplace verticals.

Very few, if any, crypto/self sovereign identity platforms offer bank account opening, and from what I understand, no one else has incorporation services. These two are massive markets and very unique at this point. A clear way to differentiate is by expanding horizontally to different Marketplace verticals. However, there may be ways to differentiate further in a 'vertical' approach (e.g. a new chain) or a hardware wallet, or other things we are being discussed and validated through user testing, interviews and surveys.

The Wallet needs more/most chains to be a success. Thoughts? Thanks?

EL: We have considered adding more chains to the wallet on many occasions. In fact, we have a pretty exciting update to share about a partnership with a very important upcoming chain! (announcement of an announcement ? ) Like most things, it's the community who will decide this, and there is a poll on this question coming soon - stay tuned!

Just read an article about Zoom having identity verification problems on its platform as well as security issues for user data. They are planning on integrating cryptocurrency payments into it as well. Is this not a perfect use case of Login with ESelfKey and users needing to have self sovereign ID? Partnering with Zoom could start to fix their security issues. Could it be worth a try to partner with them and get them on board for LWS? What are the team's thoughts on this and companies in similar positions?

EL: Great idea! We are always open to suggestions for clever partnerships. Need to keep in mind a lot of this is out of our control, we can't tell another company what to do! That being said, we are aware of the issues with Zoom and think this would be a great partnership opportunity. As a reminder, if you have suggestions or ideas like this, please submit them at ideas.selfkey.org - the success of ESelfKey relies on the efforts of the community!

Update: we did contact Zoom through several contacts on LinkedIn - let's see what can be done here! interestingly, also since this question was asked, Zoom acquired Keybase - we are on the right track!

Can ESelfKey add a Real Estate Marketplace?

EL: This is a good question! Real estate is a very domestically based transaction - for instance, in many countries in Asia, you need to be a local to own land. Furthermore, people usually want to see real estate before they buy it. But - there is a segment that we like which is real estate for passports - this is interesting because it is inherently international - also, you get a passport for yourself and your family if you buy the property - so there is no risk of the country saying "citizens only" - because you are a citizen. We want more feedback on this - would ESelfKey users want to buy real estate and get a citizenship?

Are you preparing to establish a lending platform?

EL: Yes, we have an upcoming crypto loan marketplace - lots of interesting opportunities to evolve this marketplace as well here!

Are there any plans for staking? In my opinion this could bring a lot of users to use the mobile wallet.

EL: We do have some plans around staking - but want to release a full plan before we announce anything. Ideally should be able to do it Q3 - but cannot promise this as there are a few moving parts! Patience is a virtue ? HODL!

Is there going to be a way to buy KEY through the app using a credit card or something similar?

EL: Hopefully yes! It's a great idea - buying KEY through the app with a credit card. Right now the major sticking point is API - we haven't found any company who has an API to receive KYC, and purchase with a credit card. Does the community know anyone?

And that concludes our AMA. Thank you Edmund for taking the time to talk to the community and thank you everyone for participating!

For many, the question remains - what actually happens to your personal data once it’s been stolen? In this article we cover the typical use cases, including what type of data is most valuable and why hackers hack in the first place. 

Why hackers hack

There are a number of reasons why hackers steal data in the first place. The most popular and most obvious reason is financial gain. The majority of hackers want to make a profit, and they can easily do so by stealing information like bank or login details. They can steal your money from your accounts, apply for a credit card or loan under your name, or they can also resell your information to another criminal on the internet. The dark web is full of criminals buying and selling stolen personal information. 

In the past few years, there has been a new development in hacking for financial gain. It has become increasingly popular for hackers to break into your device and encrypt the data on it. It’s called ransomware, and malicious actors hold your files hostage until you pay the ransom within a certain period of time. If you don’t pay, the data is usually destroyed by the hacker. 

Surprisingly, not all hackers are in it for the money; some steal information and act as shadowy vigilantes. Known as “hacktivism”, groups or individuals work together to take down terrorist groups, oppressive regimes, governments, and trafficking rings. We’ve all heard of Edward Snowden, probably one of the most well known hacktivists, who leaked data from the National Security Agency. There’s also the Anonymous group, which has been behind 45% of hacktivism in the past four years. However, the group now seems to be defunct, or at least very quiet. 

A very small number of hackers just want to show off what they can do, and they have no intention of stealing information or making a profit. Sometimes they launch a hack to show how poor a corporation’s cybersecurity is. An example of this is the infamous Ashley Madison data breach, where the profiles of 32 million users were made publicly available. The hackers didn’t want money; they just wanted the website taken down. Ashley Madison is a dating platform for people seeking extramarital affairs, and the leak quite literally tore some families apart.

What data is the most valuable?

There are typically five types of data that malicious actors will want to steal:

1. Payment information - Given that financial gain is the primary reason why hackers hack in the first place, payment data is the most valuable. 
2. Authentication details - Once a hacker has gained access to one account, chances are they can get into others too. The more accounts they hack, the more information they collect.
3. Copyrighted material - Most software can be pretty pricey, and hackers would rather not pay. 
4. Medical records - This might come as a surprise, but medical identity theft is extremely common. Perpetrators will use your information to gain access to healthcare for themselves. 
5. Classified information - While this won’t affect most people, classified information is very valuable for blackmail purposes. 

What happens to your data after it’s stolen?

Once a hacker has your data, there are a few things they can do. The first step is to scan your data for important and/or valuable information like bank details, login information, photos, emails, or messages. The perpetrator will then decide whether they are going to keep the files or sell them to a third party (often called a “broker”). 

Typically, hackers will sell your data. This reduces risk for them, and also gives them an immediate profit. The price for stolen personal information depends on how valuable it is. For example, personal data from a government official or a celebrity is far more valuable than that belonging to the average person. 

As mentioned earlier, credit card and payment details are the most popular on the dark web, and clearing funds from your account is dead easy. Usually a “broker” will buy your card details on a marketplace and resell them to a “carder”. The carder will then get as much money out of your accounts as possible before you or your bank notices. 

They can generally replicate a card by printing one themselves, but more commonly they will use them for a gift card shell game. What happens is the carder will use your payment details to buy online gift cards, and then make purchases with the gift cards. Typically, they will purchase electronics because they are always in demand and can be easily resold, making them relatively low risk. 

The risk of losing your funds is very small with a credit card compared to the risk involved with debit cards. Banks usually have policies in place for credit card fraud and are quite good about spotting suspicious purchases. Debit cards are unfortunately a different story; not much can be done if your funds are stolen. Debit cards are far more common in Europe than in North America, and they are extremely valuable on the dark web. 

Personal information is far less valuable on the black market, since it is already widely available. Your name, birthday, address, and email can sometimes just be gathered by looking at your social media accounts. As a result, there has been a huge growth in extortion regarding personal data.

Malicious actors will obtain your personal information and threaten to release it to the public. This is very common with explicit photos and messages, as hackers will hold them for a ransom. If you don’t pay up, your reputation could sadly be ruined. Naturally, this data is even more valuable if the victim is a public figure, such as when the National Enquirer allegedly threatened to release photos of Jeff Bezos and his mistress. 

Companies, in particular financial organizations, have tried to fight identity and financial crime by implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. This requires companies to verify the identity of their users by using personal documents such as passports or other forms of government-issued ID. However, this has led to an increase in theft of personal documents, tax information, and insurance numbers. 

KYC information contains everything a malicious actor needs to commit fraud and steal your identity. By having your passport or driver’s license, they can apply for loans, and claim your tax credits and your insurance claims. While this type of hack is very difficult to orchestrate, it is one of the most valuable, making it more and more appealing to criminals. 

How to prevent your data from being stolen

Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell if your data has been stolen, but there are a number of preventative measures you can take. One crucial step is to use a password manager in order to create unique passwords for all of your individual accounts. This prevents hackers from being able to access more of your accounts if they gain access to one.

Blockchain technology can also be of use here. Decentralized identity (DID) gives you far more control over what data you share and who you share it with. Through DID, you prove your identity once to a trusted third party, and said third party handles all requests for identity and access so you don’t have to. Not only is it more convenient, it is far safer.

Lastly, keep an eye on your finances. They are likely to be the first target in any type of hack and you can do things like freeze your credit or place a fraud alert on your accounts for extra protection.

Conclusion

As we’re aware by now, having your personal information stolen is not a problem that is going to go away any time soon. Unfortunately, there is no true way to prevent your data from being hacked as long as you are not in charge of the security of your data. This is why digital identity management solutions like the ESelfKey Identity Wallet have become so popular - it puts you back in control of your own data. It’s not enough to blindly trust big corporations like Facebook anymore. 

If you are worried that your data has been breached (the answer is yes), you can check on the website Have I Been Pwned. You can also set up notifications so you are aware if your accounts have been compromised. 

Your data, and most of your life, is online. Every action you take or interaction you have could potentially put you at risk. It is vital to take a proactive approach when it comes to managing your personal data. It can be annoying, but it’s probably worth your time to understand how your data is protected on the websites and apps you use regularly. Be cautious and vigilant, because crime never sleeps.

In this article, we outline everything you need to know about decentralized identity, and how it could change the future. 

Decentralization and Blockchain

To accurately define decentralized identity, we have to first talk about blockchain. You most likely know of blockchain because of Bitcoin, and a big part of Bitcoin’s popularity and appeal has to do with blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology has several unique characteristics that solve the problem of trust, which make it a great fit for identity solutions. Firstly, a blockchain is unchangeable. Here’s how it works: 

Transactions on a blockchain are processed by a network. Computers work together to confirm a transaction, and every computer in the network must ultimately confirm every transaction in the chain. 

Transactions are processed in blocks (forming the “block” in “blockchain”), and each block is linked to the previous block. This structure makes it impossible to go back and alter a transaction. In addition, a blockchain is transparent. Each computer in the network has a record of every single transaction that has occurred. 

Decentralization is at the heart of blockchain technology. No one controls the data, so no one can override a transaction and the system is unlikely to fail. This is how blockchain builds trust - data cannot be modified, is independently verifiable, and is virtually impossible to hack.

What is decentralized identity?

Imagine that you have moved to a new country and need to register for all kinds of services. You will need to set up a variety of important things such as electricity, bank accounts, Netflix, and maybe even a new driver’s license. You may need to get a new phone and install many apps, all of which you are granting access to your data

Normally, you would have to register and provide proof of identity individually to each service provider, which can be a time-consuming process. Each time you want to access an individual account, you need to prove your identity by providing a password or PIN.

DID radically simplifies and improves this whole process. You prove your identity once to a trusted third party, and said third party handles all requests for identity and access so you don’t have to. Instead of submitting a copy of your passport to five different places, you only do it once on a secure platform.

Currently, third party providers of DID use blockchain technology to protect your information from data breaches and hackers. The only way to access your information is through a wallet (usually in the form of a desktop or mobile app) that requires a unique master password to access. 

It is important to note that while the Bitcoin blockchain is public, meaning everyone can see what is happening on it, DID works slightly differently. The different forms of identification and personal data are not publicly available; they are only accessible by the user.

DID and privacy

The dawn of the internet age has led many people to become more concerned with what data they share and who has access to said data. In the United States, 73% of people said their concerns over personal data privacy have increased over the past few years. In a study by Deloitte in 2018, 81% of US consumers felt like they have lost control over their personal data. 

And the concern is valid. With many massive data breaches happening every year, people are becoming more concerned in regards to who has access to their data, and rightfully so. Trust in massive corporations is falling, and people are starting to take steps to protect their data. 

DID gives people far more control over what data they share, and who they share it with. Instead of trusting a company to store data, anyone using DID can now choose where and how they share their personal data.

Additionally, DID is far safer than other forms of data storage. Traditionally, if someone has knowledge of your personal information, then they can impersonate you and perhaps even steal your identity. However, with a decentralized identity system, a hacker might have access to bits and pieces of personal information but be unable to prove an actual identity. For DID, you must have physical access to a device to validate identity, which is far too tedious and unrewarding for malicious actors to pursue. A hacker would much rather steal from thousands of people instead of just targeting one person, simply because the reward is much higher.

While more laws are coming into effect to help protect consumer privacy and identity management (most recently the GDPR), there is still a long way to go. That being said, governments are taking notice of DID and its potential applications. DID could solve a lot of bureaucratic issues while also ensuring that personal information is truly safe. 

Applications of DID

The ability to prove that you are who you say you are is an integral part of modern society. It’s part of Know Your Customer (KYC), which most companies are legally required to do in order to prevent illegal activities such as money laundering. However, what happens if you don’t have government-issued identification documents?

More than 1.1 billion people on the planet are unable to prove their identity, and as a result, can’t access vital services - like education and healthcare - that many of us take for granted. There have been several international and national initiatives to create some type of identification for those lacking one, however, government bodies are just as vulnerable to data breaches as any company is. Here DID can solve many issues, and it is starting to be considered a strong contender.

Refugees are some of those who regularly suffer from not being able to prove their identity. On the road to asylum, many do not have ID because it was destroyed, stolen, or left behind. A report by the Norwegian Refugee Council found 70% of Syrian refugees lacked basic identification documents. 

DID could offer a potential solution here, and is already starting to be used in Finland. The Finnish Immigration Service has been giving prepaid Mastercard credit cards that are linked to a unique digital identity stored on a blockchain. This has given refugees not only a bank account, but a permanent way to verify their identity.

If we consider a future where all people have a DID, then refugees wouldn’t have to worry about losing identification documents because it would be stored digitally. Even losing your passport wouldn’t be that big of a deal because you would still have a verified copy of it. If governments and companies can figure out a way to create a DID database that is completely secure, then we may be looking at a future that is paperless when it comes to forms of identification.

Interestingly, Microsoft has been a leader in introducing DID to mainstream society. The company has been working with the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the general identity community to develop an open source DID application. 

The project is called ION, which was launched in May of this year and runs on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. The goal is to not only help those without any identification documents, but to also allow more privacy for the average internet user. While the project is still only in its infancy, it certainly has a lot of potential, and it’s nice to see a major corporation embracing a modern digital approach. Allegedly, Facebook was invited to participate in the project but declined, insisting it will follow its (awful) historic approach to user data. 

Conclusion

DID is slowly but surely becoming more mainstream, and is something that has the potential to radically change our future. However, it has raised the question that if DID becomes the new normal, won’t hackers just develop their technologies too? A blockchain can be hacked, however attempts aren’t often successful and for now, cryptocurrencies remain the main target. Given that people’s identities are on the line, any blockchain that works with DID should have extra protection. Blockchain isn’t at fault, rather human error (and criminal ingenuity) prevents anything from being totally secure.

Nevertheless, decentralized identification could possibly be the new normal and create a space where everyone has access to their identification documents, no matter if they are from a first world country or a third world country. This vision may seem slightly utopian, but there is true power behind this technology. 

The best part is that DID is already available to you. Using blockchain technology, the ESelfKey Wallet provides an identity platform where you can manage all of your personal information in one place. You’ll be able to choose what information you want to share, who gets access to it, and for how long. Welcome to the future of identity.

Luckily a solution is already at hand.

The invention of blockchain technology by Satoshi Nakamoto heralded a new wave of innovation from individuals and companies able to see its huge potential. In a world constantly undergoing rapid and fundamental change, the opportunities provided by a decentralized, trustless ledger are still awe-inspiring.

In this blog post we will discuss how your identity is managed today, and why identity management is one of the most compelling use-cases for blockchain technology. But before we get into that, let’s take a step back and explain what a blockchain really is.

What is a blockchain?

In its simplest form, a blockchain is a digital record of transactions performed with its native token. That’s it! Pretty simple right?

The cool part, is that this record is incorruptible and decentralized. This means nobody can feasibly change it to their benefit, and it stands as a true version of history.

Additionally, it allows for transactions to be performed with (mostly) minimal fees. Anyone who has ever made an international wire transfer for example, will know the sting of paying a $20 fee on a $100 transfer. Using bitcoin or most other blockchain-powered cryptocurrencies, you only pay a fraction of those fees.

The final significant advantage of blockchain v1.0 is that all transactions are public. Of course, the blockchain doesn’t broadcast your name to the world, but instead only your public wallet address.

The great benefit of this approach, is that there can be a much higher level of accountability. If you think of your local government, it is impossible to tell where and how your taxes are being spent. Using blockchain technology, literally every expense would be publicly visible, significantly improving our ability to hold the state accountable.

Clearly blockchain technology in this simple form already has a whole host of advantages that make it a compelling innovation, and one of the most important of the 21st century.

At this point you might be wondering, how an incorruptible and public record of transactions can help you manage your identity.

Well, in 2015 Vitalik Buterin et al. launched Ethereum introducing blockchain v2.0.

What is blockchain v2.0?

Born in 1994, Vitalik Buterin has already established himself as one of the luminaries of the blockchain space. Along with a number of visionary developers, Buterin managed to take bitcoin’s blockchain and make it smart.

More specifically, they re-built the blockchain, making it turing-complete and allowing developers to build applications on top of it. As a result, Ethereum not only has smart contract functionality, but enables the creation of proprietary ERC20 tokens. KEY – ESelfKey’s native utility token – is an ERC20 asset for example.

Ethereum and other smart platforms like Lisk and Cardano, open up a whole world of new possibilities. Identity management is a prime example of that.

Identity management on the blockchain

The need for a blockchain based identity management system is particularly noticeable in the internet age. 4.5 billion records have already been exposed in 2018, and new data breaches seem to be announced on a daily basis. Facebook, Google, and Amazon are three multi-billion dollar companies that have failed to keep vast amounts of customer data safe in 2018.

Even if corporations manage to keep our data safe, we still lose ownership over our identity. Despite the internet becoming an intrinsic part of human daily life, there is no adequate way of sharing our data without it being misused. Indeed, due dates, voice recordings, and passport numbers are just a few of the data points which are often collected and made available for the sole purpose of driving additional revenue.

Clearly our current approach to identity management is broken. Instead, a blockchain-based digital identity solution could focus on three key challenges: security, privacy and usability.

Our current solutions to these challenges are imperfect at best. Establishing a digital identity in 2018 still relies on identity documents, driver’s licenses, and even passports. As a result, people who have lost their documents due to war, or natural disaster often find themselves unable to secure even the most basic necessities. The pioneering work done in Jordan is certainly a step in the right direction, but there is still a lot of room for growth.

As of today, there is still no adequate system for securing either online authentication of our personal identities or of our digital identities. Blockchain technology may offer a way to solve this problem without the need for a trusted, central authority. More specifically, individuals and businesses could store and authenticate their identity on the blockchain, giving them greater control over who has their personal information and how they access it.

By using a decentralized, open-source blockchain and combining it with an identity management, we could create a digital ID, which would act as an incorruptible watermark. This watermark could be used to verify an identity for any transaction in real time.

Once such a digital ID has been created, it could be used to verify an identity for any service, dispensing with the need for clumsy and unreliable password/email combinations.

How is an identity typically verified?

An identity is verified by performing an identity transaction. This typically involves three parties. The first is the person or business being identified (IO). Next, we have the identity Claim Issuer (CI), and finally there is the third party.

The identity transaction begins with the identity owner making a claim, such as “my name is Michael Scott”. The CI then checks the claim and provides an attestation to the third party. The third party can then use that information to provide or deny access to its services.

In this setup, all three parties have to struggle with the paper driven and centralized system of identity management.

Additionally, the identity owner gives up his personal data and effectively loses ownership. A classic example of this came in 2013, when it became known that an identity thief was paying the credit reporting agency Experian thousands of dollars a month to access the information of over 200 million people. The thief then resold the personal data to the highest bidder.

Worryingly, businesses operating unethically is not even the biggest threat to your digital identity. Instead, we really have to worry about data storage systems which rely on poorly protected, centralized servers holding millions of data points. These are to hackers what lights are to moths. The more data is being stored, the more attractive it becomes as a target for malicious actors. Once under attack, most businesses suffer a breach and the identity owner becomes vulnerable to identity theft.

The way we do things now is clearly broken. What is the solution?

Own, store and share your data securely

Our idea is simple: that you alone can control and manage your digital identity – a concept known as Self-Sovereign IDentity (SSID). The ESelfKey White Paper goes into great detail, but for this blog post it suffices to say that this approach is our best chance at tackling the three key challenges outlined earlier: security, privacy and usability.

This is achieved by combining blockchain technology and an identity management solution like ESelfKey. More specifically, the ESelfKey Identity Wallet can be used to create a ESelfKey ID – an encrypted, digital watermark attached to your identity. The Wallet and your ID are stored on your local device, meaning that even if ESelfKey’s database was breached, Wallet users would be completely unaffected.

Instead of storing your digital identity on a centralized server, it is stored on the Ethereum blockchain and only you control the private key to access your information. Nobody else is able to see or access data without your permission.

Not only does this give you an unprecedented level of control over your data, but it also removes the need for time-intensive identity verification. Instead, once the ESelfKey ecosystem is complete, you will be able to register and login to services with the click of a button without losing control of your digital identity.

You can download the wallet and create your ESelfKey ID for free. Try it here.