Consortium of Korea’s Major Tech Companies and Banks to Launch Mobile Digital Identity

A group of tech companies, telecoms, and major South Korean banks, led by Samsung, are launching a blockchain-powered digital identity platform to resolve a few critical vulnerabilities found in current online certificates used for sharing personal data, as per a press release.

Digital identity continues to be one of the most explored opportunities in blockchain, and has yet to yield fruitful results, on July 14, 2019.

Details of the Identity Platform

Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, KT Corp, and LG Uplus along with banks like KEB Hana and Woori Bank make up this consortium and will pave the way for a more secure digital identity sharing process for South Korea.

Currently, online certificates used for facilitating the transfer of personal data is prone to cyber attacks and other vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are derived from poor data management practices on behalf of websites and those running online businesses.

Blockchains allow individuals to control their information and release it in an encrypted manner when the owner of the data grants third-party access.

In the pilot phase, data stored on a user’s mobile will be used as proof of identity at major universities and trading platforms that facilitate the exchange of shares for unlisted startups. This particular objective is further enhanced by the entry of Koscom, an IT subsidiary of the Korean Stock Exchange (KOSDAQ), to the consortium.

The three telecom service providers in the consortium will insist on individuals creating and providing this digital identity when acquiring new customers and hiring new employees. The consortium is actively trying to recruit stalwarts of various industries in Korea to join the project and forge a more secure manner of operating online, for both individuals and corporations.

Blockades to Decentralized Identity

One of the biggest challenges for decentralization is finding an accurate and reliable manner of trying addresses to a user’s identity.

Governments often discuss the prospect of universal basic income (UBI), despite staunch criticism for economists. Decentralized cryptocurrencies are often seen as an ideal way of starting a UBI scheme, most likely because of the default socialist factors in these networks.

The only predicament, in this case, is successfully tying identity to addresses, without which a single individual may be able to claim their income from various addresses. Gaming the system is relatively easy, and establishing digital identity so that users can control their information is a vital part of decentralization.