Digital Core Identity

So I’ve been reading the Accenture Tech Vision for 2023 and the subject of digital identity was very interesting and I would like to share some thoughts backed up by my research using ChatGPT.

If we could re-engineer the Internet to authenticate users by their core identities, as per their birth certificates, government ID’s and passports, we would most likely decrease the problem with scams and improve verification and accountability. However, it is also a security risk making users even more vulnerable to online identity theft. But if we could navigate the privacy and security issues and protect identities the Internet would be a safer place if we could prove a person is who they say they are.

There are standard measures to reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access in an app such as encryption and strong authentication mechanisms but cyber security is an ongoing process because there are always new threats emerging.

Web 3 and the Metaverse are an opportunity to do things differently on the Internet. Each app can match users to their national identification number or social security number etc. using government ID verification. This is now possible for a wide variety of countries because there are APIs that can retrieve data from government databases to verify users.

However, if we were to roll out digital core identity on the centralized Internet for example, on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Threads and Instagram, there would be a high security risk because storing sensitive government ID data in a centralized manner makes it a valuable target for hackers – a data breach could expose the personal information of millions of users, leading to identity theft and other cybercrimes. A hybrid approach could however, resolve this.

Organizations will gain valuable and reliable data knowing a person is who they say they are and this could improve products, services and processes. However, another issue is that some users may not feel free to express themselves because their true identity will be known. Anonymity plays a large role in freedom of speech on the Internet but for those who want an authentic and safer experience, digital core identity will provide that for them.