The Bitcoin Masterclass (London) Day 2: Identity proofs

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Overview:
• In this session, the 2nd on day two, Wright discussed the future of Bitcoin and the
scalability of nChain’s blockchain solutions;
• In the third session on the second day, Wright discussed identity proofs;
• He discussed how identity can be demonstrated on the blockchain without exposing
sensitive information;
• Wright questioned the ease of privacy and discussed queries surrounding data
acquisition and disclosure;
• He compared Bitcoin to security certificates, noting issues with the current model;
• Bitcoin, blockchain, and tokenisation offer more control over data access and faster
detection of breaches or attacks;
• Using Bitcoin, it is possible to establish provable ownership of data, multi-sig
access, and pseudonymous investments while maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

Dr Craig S. Wright, Chief Scientist at nChain, held the first edition of his Bitcoin Masterclass series at an exclusive venue in London in January. The two-day immersive course forms part of a monthly series aimed at helping attendees understand the fundamentals of Bitcoin and the technology behind it. The Bitcoin Masterclass series will give you a comprehensive overview of Bitcoin’s history, theory and design. Wright discussed the future of Bitcoin and the unbounded scalability of nChain’s blockchain solutions with potential use cases across several industries. In the third session on the second day, Wright discussed Identity proofs. He further discussed how identity can be demonstrated on the blockchain without exposing sensitive information.

https://youtu.be/qgLlJl0fRWI

Why keeping digital identity private is ‘not easy’

Wright began the session by asking the audience whether they thought ‘privacy is easy’? While some audience members argued it is easy, Wright brought up several instances where privacy concerns could surface in particular scenarios. As mentioned in earlier sessions, there are several queries surrounding who can obtain specific information, for what purpose, at what point, and how much data can be disclosed by acquiring that information. He gave the example of getting a binary response to queries such as ‘Is this individual authorised to enter?’ or ‘Is this person a worker at company X?’ without disclosing sensitive data, such as the individual’s date of birth or work history.

Bitcoin vs certificates

Wright then moved on to the issue of Bitcoin vs security certificates, citing the widely-used SSL/TLS X.509 standard digital certificates. These certificates are distributed by trusted Certificate Authorities (CA) who are supposed to follow strict rules for granting them. However, Wright noted that the issue with this model is that the issuer can be compromised, leading to a large number of security breaches affecting many owners before any action is taken. He gave the example of DigiNotar, a Dutch CA that was compromised in 2011, where the breach affected many well-known companies. By comparison, Bitcoin, blockchain, and tokenisation offer more control over data access than the current system and provide faster detection and alerting of breaches or attacks. Wright posited that this would be a better system than X.509 and handling certificate revocation. He added that using Bitcoin, it is possible to establish provable ownership of data, multiple ‘subkeys’, multi-sig access to data, and pseudonymous investments that remain compliant as long as the relevant authorities are aware of the true identity behind the pseudonym. The identity of this ‘person’ can be structured with full on-chain records of its real-life shareholders/option holders and officeholders, with transparent and open data and legal structures while maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

The Bitcoin Masterclass (London) Day 2: Identity proofs

Why keeping digital identity private is ‘not easy’

Bitcoin vs certificates

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