Keeping your personal information safe is more important than ever nowadays. ITRC’s data breach report states how our data can get stolen. But let’s accept the fact that remembering all these usernames and passwords is a headache. Additionally, hackers and cyberattacks are always finding new ways to steal your data.  

VPN, antimalware, and there are several precautionary solutions to address this problem. However, decentralized identity can be a core solution that puts you in control of your own digital identity without relying on third parties.  

With EveryCRED, you can instantly and easily create a secure decentralized identity with blockchain. Does it all seem confusing and hard to take it in? Let us make it simple so that you can understand what we are talking about and how you can develop a decentralized identity. 

What is Decentralized Identity and Blockchain

To understand decentralized identity, you need to understand centralized identity first. So, whatever digital/physical ID you have been provided by the government, your company, or any party that is controlled by that particular party is called a centralized identity. Examples are your driver’s license, national ID card, and your ID card at your workplace.  

In a centralized identity system, you don’t have complete control over your identity, and anybody who has access to your identity can share it with anyone else.  

Now, when we talk about decentralized identity, it is issued by third parties, but you (the holder) have full control over it. This means you only decide with whom you want to share your identity, exactly what part of your ID (DoB, address, etc.), and for how long. 

And blockchain is like a big, tamper-proof book that keeps track of everything securely. It is like having a bunch of people constantly checking to make sure no one messes with your data. So, when decentralized identities are created on the blockchain according to W3C standards, they guarantee maximum security. 

Check: Why Is Decentralized Identity Important for Developers 

Main Parts of a Decentralized Identity System 

To create a secure decentralized identity solution, you need to know about its main parts: 

1. Digital Wallet: This is an app that lets you create and manage your decentralized identity. It is like your digital ID card holder. 

2. Identity Owner: The user who creates their decentralized identity using your digital wallet and controls who gets to see your personal data. 

3. Issuers and Verifiers: These are the people or organizations that issue and check your identity information. They sign transactions with their private keys. 

4. Service Providers: These are the apps and websites that accept your decentralized identity for logging in. They check the blockchain to make sure it is really you. 

5. Blockchain: This is a big, secure book that stores all the identity information. It is spread out across a bunch of computers, so no one can tamper with it. 

6. Decentralized Identifier (DID): This is your unique digital ID that has all your important info, like your public key and verification details. 

How to Set Up Your Own Secure Decentralized Identity 

Step #1: Register with EveryCRED 

Go to https://everycred.com/contact-us and register with EveryCRED. This will let you use EveryCRED’s platform to issue and manage decentralized identities. 

Step #2: Choose a Blockchain Network 

Pick the blockchain network you want to use for your decentralized identities. EveryCRED works with Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric. 

Step #3: Select DID Method 

We have our own DID method called EVRC. This method lets you create and manage decentralized identifiers (DIDs) on the blockchain you chose. Use EVRC for a simple solution. 

Step #4: Decide on the Identity Type (Subject) 

Choose what kind of identity you want to issue. This could be an employee ID, a membership card, a credential, or any other type of verifiable claim about a person or organization. EveryCRED has templates and an easy-to-use interface for creating your identity schema. 

Step #5: Issue Decentralized Identities to Users 

After defining your identity schema, you can start giving decentralized identities to your users. EveryCRED will help you collect the necessary information from users and submit the identity creation transaction to the blockchain. The platform takes care of the complicated cryptography for you. 

Step #6: Verify Credentials 

With EveryCRED, checking a user’s decentralized identity is easy. Just use EveryCRED’s verifier to check if an identity is valid on the blockchain. You can add this verification step to your own app’s login or onboarding process with our API for secure, decentralized authentication. 

Read: What Are Verifiable Credentials in Cybersecurity: Importance, Benefits, Use Cases, and Examples   

Benefits of Decentralized Identity for Businesses 

Using a decentralized identity solution are really advantageous for businesses: 

1. Better Security: Decentralized identity systems are more secure than traditional centralized identity systems. They protect against data breaches. 

2. More Trust: Decentralized identity solutions build trust between businesses and their customers as they cannot be faked. 

3. New Business Opportunities: Decentralized identity opens up new business models and use cases that weren’t possible before, like users making money from their data or more secure processes for KYC, supply chain tracking, and digital rights management. 

4. Smoother Processes: Decentralized identity makes signing up and logging processes very easy and speedy. 

5. Cost Savings: Cutting out the middlemen and automating identity verification can save businesses a lot of money compared to traditional identity management. 

6. Easy Inclusion and Access: Decentralized identity can bring more people into the digital economy by giving them security and verifiable credentials (identity), which is important in developing countries where many people lack official ID documents. 

7. Compliance: Decentralized identity solutions line up with data protection regulations. So, it is easy for businesses to follow the rules and avoid penalties. 

Conclusion 

Decentralized identity, powered by blockchain technology, is changing the game for how businesses handle identity management. By using a secure decentralized identity solution in place, businesses have many benefits. This is the future, and it is a smart move to embrace it today. 

Everycred has everything you need to create a secure, compliant, and user-friendly identity management system. From digital wallets to issuer and verifier tools, we make it easy to get started with decentralized identity.