Distributed Ledger Credential Verification via Smart Contract Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in securely managing and verifying digital credentials after distribution, as they are no longer under the control of the issuing system but must remain trusted for access and identity verification.
Innovation Solution
A digital credential management system utilizing a distributed ledger to securely store and verify credentials, ensuring their legitimacy and trustworthiness through cryptographic methods and smart contracts, allowing users to prove identity and access rights effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cryptographic digital credentials are distributed to users, then users can prove qualifications independently, but the system loses control over the credentials after distribution
Solution Approach 1:
A credential verification service acts as an intermediary between the credential system and verifying parties. This service maintains a revocation list of invalid credentials and provides verification functionality, allowing the system to indirectly control and monitor distributed credentials without holding them directly. The intermediary enables trust while preserving user independence.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-generating and distributing credentials before they are needed, and pre-establishing a revocation list mechanism. This allows credentials to be independently usable while maintaining system oversight capabilities through the pre-configured verification infrastructure.
2Productivity
If credentials are distributed to users for independent verification, then verification speed improves, but security risks increase as credentials are no longer centrally controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The credential verification service serves as a security intermediary that mediates between distributed credentials and verification needs. It maintains a revocation list that blocks fraudulent or compromised credentials, enabling fast verification while mitigating security risks through the intermediary's monitoring and validation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through the revocation list mechanism, where the credential issuing authority can mark credentials as invalid and the verification service propagates this information. This feedback loop enables the system to respond to security threats while maintaining the speed benefits of distributed verification.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized system controls credentials, then security and control are maintained, but verification requires centralized access which reduces user independence
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments credential management into separate functional components: credential issuance, credential storage (with users), and credential verification (through the verification service). This segmentation enables user independence in holding and presenting credentials while maintaining system reliability through the distributed verification infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The credential verification service acts as an intermediary that enables verification without requiring centralized credential storage. It mediates between the distributed credentials held by users and the need for verification, maintaining both user independence and system control through this intermediary layer.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for credential storing and verifying includes an interface and a processor. The interface is configured to receive an indication to register a credential. The processor is configured to indicate to store in a distributed ledger a DID document associated with a holder identifier using a smart contract. Storing using the smart contract employs a dual signature authentication scheme to authorize storing based at least in part on an individual signature and a ledger writer signature. The processor is further configured to indicate to store in the distributed ledger a schema associated with an issuer of the credential using the smart contract and indicate to store in the distributed ledger a credential definition associated with the schema using the smart contract.