With the advancement of technology and subsequently the age of digital information, online trustworthy identification has become increasingly more important. With respect to the various data breaches and privacy regulations, the current identity solutions are not fully optimized. In this paper, we will take a look at several Self-Sovereign Identity solutions which are already available. Some of them are built upon blockchain technology as this already provides decentralised persistent data and consensus. We will explore the emerging landscape of Self-Sovereign Identity solutions and dissect their implementations under multiple aspect criteria to determine the necessity of blockchain technology in this field. We conclude that blockchain technology is not explicitly required for a Self-Sovereign Identity solution but it is a good foundation to build up on, due to various technical advantages that the blockchain has to offer.
In @cite_20 a comparison between Sovrin, uPort and ShoCard with respect to the seven laws of identity of K. Cameron is made. Sovrin and uPort are solutions whereas ShoCard is called a decentralized trusted identity. With ShoCard, identity proofing of users based on existing trusted credentials is stored on a blockchain. It is concluded that distributed ledger technology is not a silver bullet and especially the usability aspect has to improve.
@cite_20
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The emergence of distributed ledger technology (DLT) based on a blockchain data structure has given rise to new approaches to identity management that aim to upend dominant approaches to providing and consuming digital identities. These new approaches to identity management (IdM) propose to enhance de-centralization, transparency, and user control in transactions that involve identity information; however, given the historical challenge to design IdM, can these new DLT-based schemes deliver on their lofty goals? We introduce the emerging landscape of DLT-based IdM and evaluate three representative proposals—uPort, ShoCard, and Sovrin—using the analytic lens of a seminal framework that characterizes the nature of successful IdM schemes.