The document discusses the concept of self-sovereign identity in relation to blockchain technology, emphasizing the importance of understanding identity for maintaining human dignity in interconnected systems. It outlines the principles of self-sovereign identity, which includes independent existence, user control, and privacy. The text highlights the evolution of identity systems and the potential risks associated with flawed identity management, which can lead to personal harm.

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Self Sov Identity and
blockchains: symbiotic?!
Controlling my digital me’s
@henkvancann
Sept 21 2017

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Today…
• Symbiotic
• Blockchain and Internet of Value
• Identity
• Self Sovereign
• Federations
• Attribute based identity
Main message:
After tonight’s meetup: study more on the field of work on Blockchain and Identity, where it strengthens each other.
Why would we be interested in Self Sov Identity, What is it?

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Crypto Currencies’ foundational innovation
Repeat of essence of the introduction
Encryption {key}
Timestamping and consensus {stamp}
Verification {check}
But you will always need (access to) the original digital data.

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Steal me…
A bitcoin address is your virtual identity… as long as you’re the only one that controls it!

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1. Existence
2. Status
3. Identity
4. Acquirements
5. Location
6. Ownership
7. Purchase
“ESIALOP”
Delivers proofs of…
Blockchain apps

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“ATOMIC”
Blockchain touches…
1. Assets
2. Trust
3. Ownership
4. Money
5. Identity
6. Contracts

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René Descartes said, Cogito ergo sum — I think, therefore I am.
• Human Dignity
• Interconnected systems need a true understanding of
identity
• Sometimes needs of security outweigh the need for
human dignity
Identity
However, modern society has muddled this concept of identity.
Open <> Visible
Why are we spending so much time with a definition of identity? The vital, simple reason is human dignity.
When we build interconnected systems without a core understanding of identity, we risk inadvertently compromising human dignity. We
risk accidentally building systems that deny self-expression, place individuals in harm’s way, and unintentionally oppress those most in need of self-
determination.
There are times when the needs of security outweigh the need for human dignity. Fine. It’s the job of our politicalsystems—local, national, and
international—to minimize abuse and to establish boundaries and practices that respect basic human rights.
But when engineers unwittingly compromise the ability of individuals to self-express their identity, when we expose personal information in unexpected
ways, when our systems deny basic services because of a flawed understanding of identity, these are avoidable tragedies. What might seem a minor
technicality in one conversation could lead to the loss of privacy, liberty, or even life for an individual whose identity is unintentionally compromised.
That’s why it pays to understand identity, so the systems we build intentionally enable human dignity instead of accidentally destroy it.

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Not today…
• No Fraude
• No reputation based Identity systems
• No wallet client software
• No key management
• No public key management
• No consensus mechanisms
• No biometry

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Chris Allen @ChristopherA
1. **Existence.** Users must have an independent existence.
2. **Control.** Users must control their identities.
3. **Access.** Users must have access to their own data.
4. **Transparency.** Systems and algorithms must be transparent.
5. **Persistence.** Identities must be long-lived.
6. **Portability.** Information and services about identity must be
transportable.
7. **Interoperability.** Identities should be as widely usable as possible.
8. **Consent.** Users must agree to the use of their identity.
9. **Minimalization.** Disclosure of claims must be minimized.
10. **Protection.** The rights of users must be protected.
’10 principles of self sovereign identity’
https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rebooting-the-web-of-trust-fall2017/blob/master/topics-and-advance-readings/self-sovereign-identity-primer.md
Phase One: Centralized Identity (administrative control by a single authority or hierarchy)
Phase Two: Federated Identity (administrative control by multiple, federated authorities)
Phase Three: User-Centric Identity (individual or administrative control across multiple authorities without requiring a federation)
Phase Four: Self-Sovereign Identity (individual control across any number of authorities)

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Joe Andrieu @JoeAndrieu
“Identity is how we keep track of people and things and, in turn,
how they keep track of us.”
’ Self-sovereign identity is centered on a person, free from
dependence on any corporation, organization, or nation-state.’
"Identity is how we keep track of people and things and, in turn, how they keep track of us.”
Joe Andrieu's Primer on Functional Identity offers a descriptive definition of identity. Quite simply, Andrieu says, "Identity is how we keep track of people and things and, in turn, how they keep track of us."
It's an astute description that cuts through the confusion of what an identity database should or shouldn't encompass by instead suggesting that models need only include what's required for persistent identification.
However, the content design of an identity system is only half the battle. There are also questions of jurisdiction, management, and oversight. In other words, once you have an identity system, who runs it, and who are they beholden to? That's where self-sovereign identity enters the picture, as an
orthogonal way to look at the question of identity systems.
A Self-Sovereign Definition
Self-sovereign identity is centered on a person, free from dependence on any corporation, organization, or nation-state.
This core definition of self-sovereign identity is a simple one, affirming that identity belongs to an individual person and cannot be taken from them.

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Dave Birch @dgwbirch
• 2014 Identity is the new money
• 2017 Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin (youtube https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-bHGNBNRlo )
• Presentation 2016 Dutch Blockchain Conference
• Presentation 2017 Dutch Blockchain Conference
‘within 10 minutes, every blockchain discussion boils down to e-
Identity issues’.
“The only relevant application of blockchain for identity is virtual identities in combination with some sort of distributed application; do not use the word ‘smart contract’, because in fact they are not smart at all. ‘Contract’ is a stupid word for a distributed application,” Birch stresses.
Medium article on 2016 Dutch Blockchain Conference
https://medium.com/happy-blockchains/fresh-dutch-blockchain-conference-93fd2716b088

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Dave Birch @dgwbirch
“The only relevant application of blockchain for identity is
virtual identities in combination with some sort of distributed
application;
“do not use the word ‘smart contract’, because in fact they are
not smart at all. ‘Contract’ is a stupid word for a distributed
application”

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Similarities between Blockchain and IAM
• Value
• Cryptography
• Complexity
• Extent
• …
Information Security