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Towards a Blockchain-based Identity Provider

Authors:
Andreas Grüner
Alexander Mühle
Tatiana Gayvoronskaya
Christoph Meinel

Keywords: Blockchain; distributed ledger technology; digital identity; self-sovereign identity; Ethereum

Abstract:
The emerging technology blockchain is under way to revolutionize various fields. One significant domain to apply blockchain is identity management. In traditional identity management, a centralized identity provider, representing a trusted third party, supplies digital identities and their attributes. The identity provider controls and owns digital identities instead of the associated subjects and therefore, constitutes a single point of failure and compromise. To overcome the need for this trusted third party, blockchain enables the creation of a decentralized identity provider serving digital identities that are under full control of the associated subject. In this paper, we outline the design and implementation of a decentralized identity provider using an unpermissioned blockchain. Digital identities are partially stored on the blockchain and their attributes are modelled as verifiable claims, consisting of claims and attestations. In addition to that, the identity provider implements the OpenID Connect protocol to promote seamless integration into existing application landscapes. We provide a sample authentication workflow for a user at an online shop to show practical feasibility.

Pages: 73 to 78

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2018

Publication date: September 16, 2018

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2162-2116

ISBN: 978-1-61208-661-3

Location: Venice, Italy

Dates: from September 16, 2018 to September 20, 2018