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 means by way of the marriage rehearsal, and the ceremony and reception went off and not using a hitch.
Now we had been newlyweds.
All that was left was to go on our honeymoon. What may presumably go improper?
It was easy crusing from right here…
That’s, till we obtained to the airport and realized my spouse’s passport had expired.
Fortunately, with categorical passport companies and a relatively egregious one-time cost of $700, our honeymoon was solely delayed in the future.
It’s a scary second while you understand you may be locked out of a visit due to a easy oversight.
Sadly, this second is sure to occur to many Individuals over the approaching months.
As a result of beginning in the present day, 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 line with the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), round 81% of vacationers presently have compliant IDs.
Which means hundreds of 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 thought was to tighten the requirements for issuing driver’s licenses and to make id verification safer and constant throughout all 50 states.
And it’s a good suggestion. However right here’s the factor…
REAL ID isn’t truly a digital id system. It’s only a harder-to-fake bodily card.
In different phrases, it’s a Twentieth-century resolution for a Twenty first-century drawback.
Look, I believe it’s nice that the U.S. is pushing for a extra centralized, top-down method to id verification.
However I consider we’re lacking out on a greater, safer means to ensure we’re all who we are saying we’re.
It’s known as Self-Sovereign Identification (SSI), and it ought to reshape the best way we method id verification within the digital age.
A New Identification
To know the promise of Self-Sovereign Identification, it’ll assist if we first check out the issues we’ve inherited from the methods we use in the present day.
In a centralized mannequin — whether or not it’s the DMV, Fb, your financial institution or a authorities company — your id is saved, managed and shared by another person.
In different phrases, your knowledge lives on their servers. Which implies they get to resolve who sees what… and when.
Clearly, this comes with dangers, particularly as knowledge breaches develop into extra routine.
In line with Statista.com, over 1.35 billion people had been affected by knowledge compromises, together with knowledge breaches, leakage and publicity in 2024.
That could be a 283% improve from the 12 months earlier than.
And since your private knowledge is scattered throughout dozens of platforms, each is a possible level of failure.
That’s why verifying somebody’s id usually requires a number of third events. However all that does is sluggish every part down and create much more alternatives for fraud.
REAL ID doesn’t repair these issues.
It doesn’t provide you with management over your personal 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 id, you carry it with you.
In different phrases, you personal and management your digital id.
Right here’s the way it works.
You’re given your personal distinctive Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), that are blockchain-based IDs that you just management.
You even have Verifiable Credentials (VCs), that are digitally signed credentials from trusted issuers that may be immediately verified with out revealing delicate data. 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.
Which means your credentials aren’t locked to 1 platform or nation. You should utilize them throughout borders and throughout companies. In lots of instances, you may even use them offline.
That makes your knowledge moveable and personal. And it additionally makes it safe since you resolve who will get to see what.
Wish to confirm you’re over 21? You are able to do that with out exhibiting your birthdate or deal with.
In actual fact, you may show any details about your self, like your citizenship or work {qualifications}, with out exposing any greater than is critical.
And I need to be clear. This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky thought.
We’ve all of the items to make this work.
The worldwide marketplace for digital credential administration software program is anticipated to almost double from 2024 to 2029.
Supply: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/
And different governments are already beginning to transfer ahead with SSI packages.
In 2023, the European Union accepted its framework for a Digital Identification Pockets, which can enable all EU residents to make use of SSI-based credentials for companies throughout member states.
And China has launched its personal model, RealDID, designed to let customers authenticate on-line companies utilizing decentralized identifiers whereas nonetheless holding authorities oversight.
What’s extra, we’ve seen the sensible software of this type of program in the true world.
The UN World Meals Programme carried out a profitable blockchain-based id system to assist Syrian refugees in Jordan obtain meals assist without having 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
If you happen to haven’t “upgraded” to a REAL ID but, you’re not alone.
Many people 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 extra screening in the present day however would nonetheless be allowed to fly.
I take a look at REAL ID as a missed alternative.
Certain, it may possibly get you thru the TSA, however SSI may take you thru to the subsequent stage of id verification…
From centralized management to particular person possession.
As a result of in an more and more digital financial system, you’ll need to be the one holding the keys to your personal id.
Regards,
Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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