Securely and conveniently identifiying registered voters has long vexed election officials, but there may be a solution, Michael Scott writes.
Amid the rancor surrounding voter IDs, there has been a growing interest interest in a blockchain-based concept known as “self-sovereign ID.” Voters could store their identity data on their devices, easily providing identity information to those who need to validate it without relying on the government or any other third-party intermediary.
Armin Ebrahimi, CEO of ShoCard, a blockchain-based data and facial recognition firm, says: “When an individual safely creates a self-certification record on the blockchain and digitally signs that record with a private key that belongs only to them, they can establish ownership of that record. An authoritative certifier can then verify that the individual’s record before confirming it on the blockchain.”
Ebrahimi goes on to note that in addition to a person’s record containing government ID and other information, it can also have a hash of their biometrics (such as facial image). That person can then go to any third party, share their digital ID and certification records, and have their record ownership confirmed utilizing what the authoritative parties have certified through the private keys. In other words, the individual determines who gains access to their digital information, for the purposes of voting or otherwise.
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/2xXNwhR
via IFTTT