New Blog Post | Why decentralization is the future of digital identities

[AshleyMartin]

Why decentralization is the future of digital identities - Microsoft Security Blog

Our identity is increasingly becoming digitized—more of our hard copy credentials are converting into digital formats. We use these digital credentials to work, learn, play, socialize, shop, and consume services online and offline every day. It’s so convenient and expected now to be able to have these aspects of life accessible at our fingertips. More than half the global economy is based on or influenced by digital.¹ Digital information becomes fluid and interconnected across services. However, it’s not always under our control as individuals.

Digital identity is now on the verge of a major transformation into one that is more secure, privacy-respecting, and portable. Identity was not fundamentally built into the internet, which has resulted in companies building singular relationships with each of us. The development of these separate accounts, each stored in central databases owned by different companies, has led to an increased risk of security and privacy breaches. Simply digitizing a business process or physical ID doesn’t reduce these risks. We need an identity system that brings our identity together, owned by the individual, and makes digital identities portable in a way that is trusted and secure.