Our most valuable online asset is our identity, so it’s understandable that users might have reservations about trusting their personal data to blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency. This is to be said particularly given the gargantuan scale of fraud and malpractice in the crypto space in recent months.
Trust, though – along with greater security – is the aim of the exercise and these concerns can be overcome with the right privacy and security. Blockchain-based digital ID, in which allgram is a pioneer, is based on the principle of self-sovereign identity (SSI). This is where users and businesses can share selected information, rather than their entire identity with other participants as well as with vendors or service providers. This form of a trusted digital ID someone could walk into a bar and present a valid credential that only shows that they are of legal age to buy an alcoholic drink, rather than presenting an ID card or bank card that might also reveal their name and address or financial details.
SSI means that the interacting parties know they can trust each other because they can see the important and relevant information. Blockchain-based digital ID can make this a reality.
John Jordan is Executive director of the Government of British Columbia’s Digital Trust Service, which is starting to implement blockchain-based ID systems for citizens and local businesses. “Currently there isn’t a way for businesses online to interact with contractual trust in a peer-to-peer way that isn’t intermediated by a third-party login service,” he says. “Blockchain presents the opportunity to have confidential friendships and business partners on a foundation of trust.”
As well as trust, other benefits of a distributed P2P blockchain ID are interoperability and the highest levels of encryption that make allgram leading the way for true privacy. allgram is triple-encrypted, making it one of the safest digital platforms available while enabling businesses to reach a wider range of customers. Blockchain has the potential to act as a ‘network of networks’.
Thales is a company that provides satellites, payloads, equipment, systems and services for communications, navigation, Earth observation and space exploration. All telecom constellations in service today were built by Thales Alenia Space. Justin Walker, vice-president for digital transformation at Thales comments, “The real truth is that banking, driving licenses and passports will eventually all be digital, and you will only use a physical passport or bank card for countries, which have not caught up yet with this technology.”
One country leading the way at bringing in national identification cards and digital identity is the Cayman Islands. Their proposed register project will cost around 8 million Cayman Islands Dollars (approximately US$9.6 million) over five years and makes data protection a high priority. Innovation Minister André Ebanks and Deputy Chief Officer Charles Brown has made the case that the national ID registry is worth the price tag, arguing that it will make life easier and more efficient for Cayman residents looking to access government services.
The Cayman Islands’ rollout plan for a digital identity system differs in a significant way from similar but unsuccessful past proposals in Jamaica and the UK: it will be voluntary and allow users to choose what data they share through their profile. It will also allow users to see who has accessed their profile, and why. Jamaica and the UK have since implemented voluntary digital identity systems for interacting with government agencies.
“We need to start building and testing these systems to ensure the right level of privacy, transparency and security,” says Andrew Thomson, a senior analyst specializing in blockchain technologies at Johnson & Johnson. “While blockchain might not be corrupted technologically, without the right governance and change-management controls in place, other areas may fall short.”
There is still a long way to go. In principle, a Digital ID can be a huge asset when it comes to commerce and seamless international travel, but there are reservations. Firstly, only blockchain has the encryption level required to all but ensure that your ID remains confidential. Secondly, these should always be voluntary arrangements. Compulsory, centrally-issued IDs have ethical concerns and coercion is not the way forward. Lastly, it should always be the user and not centralized power that determines what information is held.
allgram stands firmly behind these principles and puts the power in the hands of our individual users. At allgram, we trust our users and value their integrity and privacy. Your data and your identity are yours with allgram.
Embrace the promise of blockchain technology digital ID and download allgram, today!
