Microsoft Developing Blockchain-based Decentralized ID System

If you notwithstanding had any doubts about blockchain applied science becoming increasing mainstream with every passing day, you need to expect no further than today's news out of Redmond, Washington. According to an proclamation past software giant Microsoft, the company volition use blockchain for storing and processing ID-related data. Through a notation penned by Alex Simons, the Director of Program Management at Microsoft'southward Identity Division, the company argues that using the emerging technology will help ameliorate privacy and security beyond the digital world.

"We believe it is essential for individuals to own and control all elements of their digital identity. Rather than grant broad consent to endless apps and services, and have their identity data spread across numerous providers, individuals need a secure, encrypted digital hub where they tin can store their identity data and hands command admission to it"

Co-ordinate to Microsoft, on-chain scaling solutions fail to meet transaction capacity needs, even though some blockchain communities (read Bitcoin Greenbacks) accept successfully increased blockchain sizes. Still, that approach "degrades the decentralized land of the network and cannot attain the millions of transactions per second the system would generate at earth-scale". That is why Microsoft is developing an off-chain solution – similar the Lightning Network – that volition allow it to process massive volumes of ID data without congesting the blockchain network.

"We are collaborating on decentralized Layer 2 protocols that run atop these public blockchains to achieve global scale, while preserving the attributes of a world form DID (decentralized identity) system"

Microsoft has been collaborating with the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) on the development of the new software, and their joint research has apparently come to the determination that, in addition to cryptocurrencies, blockchain applied science is well-suited for a number of other applications. For now, the visitor says information technology will add support for decentralized identities to its Microsoft Authenticator app, which is ane of the most popular apps in the segment alongside Authy and Google Authenticator.