Building bridges of trust: Verifiable documents and the future of digital interactions

By Niranjan P, Engineering Leader, Dhiway

Today, we are used to sharing, exchanging and verifying information using paper or printed documents and sometimes digital versions as PDFs. One key concern around data exchange in these formats is the deficit of trust created through the cumbersome process of checking the authenticity and provenance of documents.

In digital interactions, trust is a fragile currency. From data breaches to phishing scams, the digital world is rife with opportunities for deception. This erosion of trust hinders progress, stifles innovation, and fuels anxieties about privacy and security.

Verifiable documents that can present authenticity and provenance are necessary improvements to a digital transformation that enhance the quality of data exchange. Verifiable documents, often called Verifiable Credentials (VCs), are digital representations of real-world credentials, like diplomas, licenses, or certifications. However, unlike their paper counterparts, VCs are cryptographically secured, ensuring their authenticity and integrity. They can be easily verified without cumbersome verification processes or centralised authorities.

Think of it like this: individuals have a secure digital wallet containing verifiable credentials instead of carrying around a stack of paper documents, each susceptible to loss or forgery. These credentials can be instantly shared and verified, streamlining processes and eliminating the risk of fraud.
The implications for building digital trust are profound. Among the few ways verifiable documents are fostering a more trustworthy digital world:

1. Enhanced security: VCs utilize cryptography to ensure the data they contain is secure and tamper-proof. This minimizes the risk of fraud and data breaches, protecting individuals and organisations. Employers can confidently verify employee certifications, healthcare providers can securely share patient records, and individuals can control who can access their data.

2. Streamlined processes: Forget the days of endless paperwork and phone calls for verification. VCs enable instant, secure verification, eliminating the need for manual processes and reducing transaction times. Imagine applying for a job and having your education credentials instantly verified by the employer or accessing healthcare services without physically presenting documents.

3. Increased transparency: VCs empower individuals with greater control over their data. They can choose what information to share, with whom, and for what purpose. This transparency fosters trust and empowers individuals to participate more actively in the digital ecosystem.

4. Decentralised ecosystem: VCs rely on a decentralized infrastructure often using blockchain implementations, meaning no single surface to attack data stores. This reduces the risk of data breaches and manipulation, further enhancing trust and security.

5. Global reach: Verifiable documents are not bound by borders. This opens up new opportunities for global collaboration, trade, and travel. Imagine obtaining a professional license recognised internationally or sharing your educational credentials with universities abroad, all with the assurance of authenticity and security.

Verifiable documents can become the foundation for data exchange only when adopted at a nation’s scale. The path forward would include the concepts below:

1. Development of trust Infrastructure at the national scale: The implementation of trust infrastructure, such as blockchain frameworks and trust protocols, is necessary to onboard the many issuers of verifiable documents.

2. Establishing trust registries: Creating and administering trust registries, which enable secure information querying, improves the end consumer experience of data verification.

3. Building use cases for trust tasks: Verifiable documents are a precursor to a trust task – the activity that follows a verification process. Enabling use cases with such trust tasks prepares the infrastructure for large-scale machine-readable verification and data exchange.

In conclusion, verifiable documents can revolutionise how we interact online. By building trust, streamlining processes, and empowering individuals, VCs can pave the way for a more secure, transparent, and inclusive digital world. While challenges exist, by addressing them collaboratively, we can unlock the immense potential of verifiable documents and build a future where trust is the cornerstone of every digital interaction.