Cryptographic Obfuscation for Physical Digital Identity Linking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The digitalization of identification processes poses privacy risks as digital identifiers, such as QR codes, can be monitored, whereas physical identifiers like government-issued ID cards carry less risk, necessitating a method to securely link physical and digital identifiers while maintaining privacy.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that cryptographically obfuscates symbols of physical identity information into digital identifiers, requiring separate deobfuscation information for each obfuscated symbol, ensuring privacy by only sharing a subset of deobfuscated symbols during verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If digital identifiers (QR codes) are used for identification, then identification process is digitalized and convenient, but privacy is threatened as digital identifiers can be monitored and tracked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identity information into multiple symbols and applies separate obfuscation to each symbol. This segmentation allows the system to process and verify only subsets of symbols at a time, maintaining privacy while enabling digital identification functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary obfuscation layer between the physical identifier and the digital identifier. This intermediary layer (the obfuscation mechanism) transforms the direct link into a secured connection where the digital identifier contains obfuscated symbols that can only be decoded with the corresponding deobfuscation information, preventing direct monitoring of the physical identifier.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If physical identifier is shown for verification, then privacy is protected as physical IDs are hard to copy, but the identification process becomes less convenient and more manual
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the physical identifier through the QR code containing obfuscated symbols. This digital copy maintains the essential identification function while being protected by the obfuscation layer, allowing convenient digital presentation while preserving the security benefits of physical identifiers.
3Extent of automation
If QR code contains government-issued identifier, then digital identification is enabled, but the software processing QR codes becomes a target for monitoring individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensitive government-issued identifier information from the QR code by applying obfuscation. The QR code contains only the obfuscated symbols, not the raw identifier data. The deobfuscation information is kept separate and accessible only to authorized systems, thereby extracting the sensitive data from the publicly visible QR code while maintaining digital identification capability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a computer-implemented method for linking identity information of a physical identifier to a digital identifier. The identity information comprises a plurality of symbols. The method comprises cryptographically obfuscating one or more symbols of the identity information separately into an obfuscated symbol such that a separate deobfuscation information is needed for each obfuscated symbol to deobfuscate it and storing the obfuscated symbols within the digital identifier.