We made it by way of months of wedding ceremony planning with out ever elevating our voices. We negotiated the invites with laughter and pleasure. We calmly made our manner by way of the marriage rehearsal, and the ceremony and reception went off with out a hitch.
Now we have been newlyweds.
All that was left was to go on our honeymoon. What might presumably go fallacious?
It was clean crusing from right here…
That’s, till we bought to the airport and realized my spouse’s passport had expired.
Fortunately, with categorical passport providers and a moderately egregious one-time cost of $700, our honeymoon was solely delayed in the future.
It’s a scary second while you notice you is likely to be locked out of a visit due to a easy oversight.
Sadly, this second is certain to occur to many People over the approaching months.
As a result of beginning right this moment, each traveler within the U.S. aged 18 and older is meant to want a REAL ID-compliant type of identification to fly domestically.
In accordance with the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), round 81% of vacationers at the moment have compliant IDs.
Meaning thousands and thousands nonetheless don’t.
So what is that this REAL ID anyway?
It’s a part of a nationwide effort that started after 9/11 to create a extra uniform, safe system of state-issued IDs. The concept was to tighten the requirements for issuing driver’s licenses and to make identification verification safer and constant throughout all 50 states.
And it’s a good suggestion. However right here’s the factor…
REAL ID isn’t really a digital identification system. It’s only a harder-to-fake bodily card.
In different phrases, it’s a Twentieth-century resolution for a Twenty first-century downside.
Look, I believe it’s nice that the U.S. is pushing for a extra centralized, top-down strategy to identification verification.
However I imagine we’re lacking out on a greater, safer manner to verify we’re all who we are saying we’re.
It’s referred to as Self-Sovereign Identification (SSI), and it ought to reshape the best way we strategy identification verification within the digital age.
A New Identification
To grasp the promise of Self-Sovereign Identification, it’ll assist if we first check out the issues we’ve inherited from the programs we use right this moment.
In a centralized mannequin — whether or not it’s the DMV, Fb, your financial institution or a authorities company — your identification is saved, managed and shared by another person.
In different phrases, your knowledge lives on their servers. Which implies they get to determine who sees what… and when.
Clearly, this comes with dangers, particularly as knowledge breaches turn out to be extra routine.
In accordance with Statista.com, over 1.35 billion people have been affected by knowledge compromises, together with knowledge breaches, leakage and publicity in 2024.
That may be a 283% enhance from the 12 months earlier than.
And since your private knowledge is scattered throughout dozens of platforms, every one is a possible level of failure.
That’s why verifying somebody’s identification typically requires a number of third events. However all that does is gradual all the pieces down and create much more alternatives for fraud.
REAL ID doesn’t repair these issues.
It doesn’t provide you with management over your individual knowledge, and it doesn’t work on-line. All it does is add one other piece to the patchwork of potential factors of failure.
That’s why I’m a proponent of Self-Sovereign Identification. As a result of with SSI, the thought is that as a substitute of counting on establishments to outline and retailer your identification, you carry it with you.
In different phrases, you personal and management your digital identification.
Right here’s the way it works.
You’re given your individual distinctive Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), that are blockchain-based IDs that you simply management.
You even have Verifiable Credentials (VCs), that are digitally signed credentials from trusted issuers that may be immediately verified with out revealing delicate information. These are issues like a college diploma or a COVID vaccination.
However this knowledge now not must be saved on an organization or authorities server.
As an alternative, it’s held in a safe digital pockets just like a crypto pockets. Besides this one holds your private knowledge.
Meaning your credentials aren’t locked to 1 platform or nation. You should use them throughout borders and throughout providers. In lots of circumstances, you possibly can even use them offline.
That makes your knowledge transportable and personal. And it additionally makes it safe since you determine who will get to see what.
Wish to confirm you’re over 21? You are able to do that with out displaying your birthdate or tackle.
Actually, you possibly can show any information about your self, like your citizenship or work {qualifications}, with out exposing any greater than is critical.
And I wish to be clear. This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky concept.
We’ve all of the items to make this work.
The worldwide marketplace for digital credential administration software program is predicted to almost double from 2024 to 2029.
Supply: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/
And different governments are already beginning to transfer ahead with SSI applications.
In 2023, the European Union accredited its framework for a Digital Identification Pockets, which is able to enable all EU residents to make use of SSI-based credentials for providers throughout member states.
And China has launched its personal model, RealDID, designed to let customers authenticate on-line providers utilizing decentralized identifiers whereas nonetheless retaining authorities oversight.
What’s extra, we’ve seen the sensible utility of this type of program in the actual world.
The UN World Meals Programme applied a profitable blockchain-based identification system to assist Syrian refugees in Jordan obtain meals assist with no need a government-issued ID.
In the meantime, right here within the U.S. we’re nonetheless issuing plastic ID playing cards.
Right here’s My Take
When you haven’t “upgraded” to a REAL ID but, you’re not alone.
Many of us are planning on utilizing their passports as a substitute once they journey domestically.
And simply yesterday, the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) Secretary, Kristi Noem, introduced that vacationers with out the doc would face further screening right this moment however would nonetheless be allowed to fly.
I have a look at REAL ID as a missed alternative.
Certain, it could get you thru the TSA, however SSI might take you thru to the subsequent degree of identification verification…
From centralized management to particular person possession.
As a result of in an more and more digital economic system, you’ll wish to be the one holding the keys to your individual identification.
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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