Re: DID Use Case: Public Pointers to Private Data

Concept ACK

I particularly like the idea of public credentials that can be used to
authorize (ocap?) access to private information. I might add that there
could be four levels — public open, public non-correlatable, private
non-correlatable, private correlatable with consent proof.

— Christopher Allen [via iPhone]

On Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 12:01 PM John, Anil <anil.john@hq.dhs.gov> wrote:

> Name
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> Public Pointers to Private Data
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> Background
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> When sharing information between multiple organizations, each participant
> typically segregates data that is publicly visible from data that is
> considered private. It is useful for organizations to provide the public
> information in a way that is cryptographically verifiable and includes the
> ability to point to data stores containing associated private information.
> This private information should only be accessible to authorized entities
> on an automated, case by case basis.
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> Need
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> A national customs and border authority facilitating and enforcing the
> movement of goods across its border is automating and streamlining the
> sharing of relevant documentation from trade organizations. The customs
> authority asks each trade organization to self-issue an identifier that
> enables them to create digital signatures for the purposes of signing
> documentation and authenticating themselves. When a trade organization
> ships goods across the border, it uses the identifier to digitally sign and
> share data that is visible to the customs authority and other trade
> members. When and what data was provided by the trade organization is
> auditable, including pointers to private, trade-sensitive, access
> controlled data. When the customs authority is performing an inspection,
> (a) it reads and verifies the public data and private pointers, (b)
> retrieves a cryptographic access token that only they can use to access the
> private data, and (c) accesses the private data using the cryptographic
> access token.
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> Challenge
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> While the public records are accessible to the customs authority and the
> trade organizations, the private records are only accessible to the customs
> authority or someone that they delegate the access token to. There are
> three protocols at play here: (1) accessing the public records, (2) using
> the access token for private access, and (3) the mechanism used to
> authenticate during the private access and the subsequent authorization to
> see the relevant private data.
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> Distinction
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> This use case identifies the notion that DIDs and DID Documents will
> enable architectural models and protocols that have a public and private
> component to them. The identification of each actor in the ecosystem and
> all three protocols in the challenge  are dependent on the authentication
> and authorization mechanisms supported/referenced by DIDs and DID Documents.
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> This use case also suggests that naturally delegatable authentication and
> authorization mechanisms should be considered in order to reduce
> operational overhead and avoid privilege escalation problems when accessing
> these private systems.
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> Best Regards,
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> -          Anil
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> Anil John
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> Cyber Security R&D Program Manager
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> Science and Technology Directorate
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> US Department of Homeland Security
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> Washington, DC, USA
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> anil.john@hq.dhs.gov
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> Email Response Time – 24 Hours
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