Cryptographic Twins for Private Digital Ownership and Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional authentication methods face challenges in balancing security and ease of use, with varying solutions across online services leading to privacy and security issues, and existing blockchain and DLT technologies lack confidentiality and privacy.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing cryptographically unique beacons in users' homes for seamless multifactor authentication, managing aliases and credentials, and enabling cryptographic twins for secure digital ownership and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional authentication methods (passwords, security tokens) are used, then ease of use is improved, but security is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cryptographic twin as an intermediary between the user and the service provider. The cryptographic twin contains authentication credentials and acts as a mediator that can prove user identity without exposing sensitive information. This resolves the contradiction by enabling strong authentication (improving security) while keeping the user interface simple (maintaining ease of use), as the user only needs to interact with the cryptographic twin rather than managing complex credentials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a cryptographic copy (twin) of the user's identity and credentials. This cryptographic twin can be used for authentication without requiring the user to directly manage or expose their actual credentials. The copy enables strong authentication mechanisms while keeping the original credentials secure, thus improving security without compromising ease of use since the user interacts with the simplified twin interface.
2Device complexity
If security measures are architected around individual services with centralized control, then security management is simplified, but privacy and security issues are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication system into distributed cryptographic twins that operate independently across different services. Each cryptographic twin is self-contained and can authenticate the user to multiple services without requiring centralized control. This segmentation reduces privacy and security issues (improving the worsening feature) while maintaining manageable complexity through standardized cryptographic protocols (addressing the complexity concern).
Solution Approach 2:
The cryptographic twins are self-managing entities that can independently authenticate users to services without requiring centralized coordination. Each twin contains its own credentials and can operate autonomously, enabling services to authenticate users without imposing centralized control. This self-service approach improves privacy and security by eliminating single points of failure and centralized data storage, while complexity is managed through standardized interfaces.
3Reliability
If blockchain and DLT technologies are used for digital ownership, then exclusive control is improved, but confidentiality and privacy are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the cryptographic twin selectively disclose information. The twin can prove ownership and identity (providing exclusive control) while keeping specific personal information private through cryptographic proofs that reveal only what is necessary. This resolves the contradiction by enabling exclusive control through blockchain/DLT while maintaining confidentiality through localized information disclosure - each interaction reveals only the minimum required information.
Solution Approach 2:
The cryptographic twin dynamically changes what information it discloses based on the context of each authentication interaction. Rather than exposing all data on the blockchain, the twin can selectively prove specific attributes or permissions without revealing underlying personal information. This parameter change approach maintains exclusive control through cryptographic verification while preserving confidentiality by adjusting information disclosure levels.
Data Source
AI summary
A system supports creation and use of cryptographic twins, which are cryptographically unique and private digital representations of entities. Twins can cryptographically encrypt and link an unlimited amount of data on behalf of their corresponding entities. The system can give entities cryptographic ownership and exclusive control over their own twins to preclude data access and tampering, even by system administrators. The system can be configured to recursively enable twins to cryptographically create, own and control other twins, to cryptographically transact with other twins, and to cryptographically transfer ownership and control of twins to other twins. As a result, the system can be configured to cryptographically chain twins to mirror complex ownership, control and transactional relationships that may exist between entities that the twins can represent in the real world.