What Are Verified Credentials?

Verified credentials (VCs) are digital credentials that represent information about an individual or entity in a secure, tamper-evident, and cryptographically verifiable way. They are designed to be the digital equivalent of physical credentials like passports, driver's licenses, or academic degrees, but with enhanced security, privacy, and convenience features enabled by cryptography and digital standards.

What Are Verified Credentials?

• Verified credentials are digital documents containing claims made by an issuer about a subject (the individual or entity the credential refers to). These claims can include identity attributes, qualifications, or other attestations such as employment status, educational degrees, or government-issued IDs.

• They follow open standards, notably those defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), ensuring interoperability and a common data model across different systems.

• The credentials are cryptographically signed by the issuer, making them tamper-evident and instantly verifiable by any party that trusts the issuer.

• The holder (user) stores these credentials in a secure digital wallet and can present them to verifiers when needed, controlling what information to share, thereby enhancing privacy and user autonomy.

How Verified Credentials Work

There are three main roles in the verified credentials ecosystem:

• Issuer: The entity (such as a government, university, or company) that creates and issues the credential after verifying the subject's information. The issuer digitally signs the credential using cryptographic keys.

• Holder (User): The individual or entity who receives the credential from the issuer and stores it securely, typically in a digital wallet. The holder controls when and how to present the credential to others.

• Verifier: The party that requests and verifies the credential presented by the holder. The verifier checks the authenticity of the credential by validating the issuer's digital signature and ensuring the credential has not been revoked or tampered with.

The verification process involves the verifier retrieving the issuer's public keys from a trusted source known as a Verifiable Data Registry or decentralized identifier system, then using cryptographic methods to confirm the credential's validity.

Benefits of Verified Credentials

• Security: Cryptographic signatures prevent forgery and tampering.

• Privacy: Users control their data and can selectively disclose information without involving the issuer or other parties.

• Interoperability: Standardized formats (JSON, JSON-LD) and protocols allow credentials to be used across different platforms and organizations.

• Convenience: Digital credentials can be stored on mobile devices and presented instantly without physical documents.

Example Scenario

Imagine an employee, Alice, who receives a verifiable credential from her employer, Woodgrove Inc., confirming her employment. Alice stores this credential in her digital wallet. When she wants to access a corporate discount from another company, Proseware, she presents a verifiable presentation of her credential. Proseware verifies the credential's authenticity by checking Woodgrove's digital signature and grants the discount based on the verified claim.

In summary, verified credentials are digitally signed, secure, and privacy-preserving digital documents that represent claims about a person or entity. They allow individuals to prove their identity or qualifications in a trustworthy and user-controlled manner, revolutionizing how personal information is shared and verified online

Until next time,
Verified Credentials