Re: [projectvrm] ID2020 and refugee identity during escape

[Mark Lizar < >]

Hi Reuben, (everyone)

Have had a hard time posting to the VRM list so - haven’t posted in a while.  Not sure if this paper made it through to the list on last time around. 

Since this paper has a lot of critical thought on the ID2020 scheme, its worth it to try and resend it again. 

- Mark 

Attachment: Building Digital Identities with Behavioural Attributes.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

On 12 Oct 2017, at 10:26, Reuben Binns < " class=""> > wrote:

Thanks for the responses everyone. Mark, I’m skimming through the Building Digital Identities report, it looks great and I see it addresses some of the concerns I had. Also good to see some figures on the scale of the problem ID2020 is intending to solve.

I certainly agree with Joe that ID should not be linked to physical embodiment wherever possible, and I’m intrigued as to how these alternatives would work. I look forward to reading the papers.

Cheers!

On Tue, Oct 10, 2017 at 11:09 PM, LaVonne Reimer < " target="_blank" class=""> > wrote:

Once again Joe makes it clear!

I seriously like the models but will not be at IIW. It conflicts with the best time to go to the UK. However I eagerly await your white papers.

Thanks!

On Tue, Oct 10, 2017 at 5:38 PM, Joe Andrieu < " target="_blank" class=""> > wrote:

On Tue, Oct 10, 2017, at 03:47 AM, " target="_blank" class=""> wrote:

Hi all,

Long time lurker here. I've recently come across the ID2020 project being

promoted in various places (id2020.org). I'm guessing people here are

probably

involved or at least are observing it closely from outside.

I'm interested in what dangers there might be for refugees who have yet

to make

it to some place of relative safety. I can certainly see the value of

self-sovereign identity for refugees *after* they have fled whatever

conflict

situation they've come from (starting a bank account, accessing services,

etc.), but it seems to me that inauthentic documentation has historically

played a very important role in protecting people. Being able to

plausibly deny

having access to your documentation and being able to present downright

false

documents was essential for many who escaped the holocaust, or the

Rwandan

genocide, to mention just two examples. Is there a danger that projects

like

ID2020 remove this by making identity too easy, ubiquitous and secure?

Yes, but the risk arises predominantly from thinking (and implementing) identity solely in terms of reducing ambiguity about the physical body. That is, when identity means making sure you are a specific physical person, then all forms of identity risk those who are fleeing persecution of their person.

At the recent Rebooting Web of Trust, I led as session where we identified four different mental models used for identity: Security, Liberty, Data, and Complexity.  I'll be revisiting this conversation at IIW and will eventually publish one or more papers or articles about it.

The short version is that each of these models are completely valid, and depending on your use case, one or more may be more important to you.

For example, the Security mental model is fixated on reducing the question of identity to a physical body. The Liberty mental model, in contrast, holds that how we represent our identity is a fundamental freedom and that participation in society rarely needs reduction to the physicality.

The roots of self-sovereign identity are in the meeting of the Liberty and Data mental models: let's enable the inevitable data-centric model in disparate technical systems by empowering individuals to control the root identifiers and attributes used when interacting with these systems.

To answer your question, there *are* risks from any identity system, but there are also ways to construct identiy independent of physical uniqueness. These alternatives can enable refugees--or any underserved, unbanked, or under-credentialed population--to have access to justice, health care, social services, etc., without unnecessary exposure of their person (as an embodiment in a particular body).

-j

--

Joe Andrieu, PMP

" target="_blank" class="">

+1(805)705-8651

http://blog.joeandrieu.com

--

LaVonne Reimer, Founder
Lumenous
503-720-0690 (cell)
lavonnereimer (skype)

www.lumenous.net