Re: WoN Re: Public consultation on EU digital principles

Henry,
In your example blog post, Stopping (https) phishing
<https://medium.com/cybersoton/stopping-https-phishing-42226ca9e7d9>, it
seems that one could reasonably assume that companieshouse.gov.uk is a
reliable authority concerning much about UK limited companies. Given a
to-be-defined, ontology, etc. I understand how my browser might come to
accept that. However, it isn't obvious to me that I should trust all that
companieshouse.gov.uk has to say about UK limited companies. For instance,
in your example, you have:

> "company_name": "CO-OPERATING SYSTEMS LTD.",
> "date_of_creation": "2015-12-17",
> "domain": ["co-operating.systems","www.co-operating.systems"],


While I might trust this site's statement about the company name and date
of creation, because their purpose is to "incorporate and dissolve limited
companies" (a function that exists in many legal systems and thus something
that could be usefully named.), why would I trust statements they make in
their role of "register[ing] company information and mak[ing] it available
to the public?" It seems to me that much of that data may be
self-assertions by the registered companies and may not have been verified
by anyone. For instance, unless they operate domain registries, why would I
believe statements about what domains are owned, operated, or controlled by
a company in their lists?

It seems to me that I need a way to discover not only the legal provenance
and role of companieshouse.gov.uk but also some means to distinguish which
of its claims can be considered authoritative and which cannot. Is this
reasonable?

bob wyman


On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 11:56 AM Henry Story <henry.story@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> There is a need for a global, decentralised, geopolitically relevant trust
> system
> that reflects international law. It is not technically difficult to do,
> all the
> pieces are in place, and it is needed for a lot more than Verifiable
> Claims.
>
> I wrote this up a couple of years ago as part of my 2nd year PhD
> report (on hold  as I ran out of money), and summarized it in this PDF.
> It’s a real simple application of linked data
>
> https://co-operating.systems/2020/06/01/WoN.pdf
>
> I have not had time to translate that doc to HTML, but  it actually points
> to
> a number of earlier blog posts all in HTML. For example this blog post
> describing 13 use cases
>
> https://medium.com/@bblfish/use-cases-for-the-web-of-nations-361c24d5eaee
>
> Perhaps that can be brought into the consultation process?
>
> Henry
>
>
> > On 4. Aug 2021, at 17:30, David Chadwick <
> d.w.chadwick@verifiablecredentials.info> wrote:
> >
> > All verifiers should be able to be configured with Issuers that they
> trust. So configuring with *.gov.country should be a viable option for a
> verifier. In this case a trust list is not needed because you already know
> your trusted issuers.
> >
> > If you want to have a trust chain that goes from gov.country to
> unknown.issuer to holder.vc that is also fine because you an unbroken
> chain of trust, effectively with delegation of authority from gov.country
> to the unknown.issuer. But this is somewhat different to an attribute
> attestation service. Its an issuer attestation service (regardless of the
> attributes the unknown.issuer asserts). So lets not mix up concepts.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > David
> >
> > On 04/08/2021 10:06, Steve Capell wrote:
> >> Not sure that you need a published trust list in all cases.  As you
> suggest, if both issuer and attestation provider are equivalently “unknown”
> then there’s little value.  But that’s rarely the case.  The whole point of
> attestations is that they are made by rusted parties.  For example
> >> - a national health authority attests to the accreditation status of an
> otherwise unknown clinic that issues a vaccination cert
> >> - a customs authority attests to the business identity and trusted
> trader status of an otherwise unknown issuer of a declaration of origin
> >> - and so on
> >>
> >> In these cases I really only care that the attestation comes from
> *.gov.au or *.gov.uk . I Don’t really need a list to check that Australia
> or the United Kingdom governments exist or to decide whether to trust them
> - do I?
> >>
> >> Steven Capell
> >> Mob: 0410 437854
> >>
> >>> On 4 Aug 2021, at 6:43 pm, David Chadwick <
> d.w.chadwick@verifiablecredentials.info> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> 
> >>> Hi Luca
> >>>
> >>> This makes more sense. Simplify is more correct than shorten. But it
> is still a spurious argument.
> >>>
> >>> This is because you are comparing apples and oranges. You are saying
> that if we get an issuer we don't recognise then it is complex to resolve
> this, so the holder should replace the issuer with an attribute attestation
> service that we do recognise. But what if you don't recognise the attribute
> attestation service that the holder has used to replace the issuer (e.g.
> one from Somewherestan). You have solved nothing. An unknown issuer and an
> unknown attribute attestation service are just as value-less, whilst a
> known issuer and a known attribute attestation service may be just as
> valuable to the RP.
> >>>
> >>> So using an attribute attestation service is only of value if the RP
> (or EU) publishes the list of trusted issuers (which can include genuine
> issuers and attribute attestation services, as the two are
> indistinguishable from a trust perspective (unless the trust list describes
> the differences)) and tells the users that they must get VCs from issuers
> in this trusted list otherwise the RP wont be able to interact with them.
> >>>
> >>> I think your comment really boils down to the fact that trust lists
> are really needed (which is exactly what the TRAIN project has produced, as
> part of eSSIF-lab).
> >>>
> >>> Kind regards
> >>>
> >>> David
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 03/08/2021 07:21, Luca Boldrin wrote:
> >>>> Correct, Steve.
> >>>> In general, “shorten” should perhaps be replaced with “simplify”.
> >>>> Indeed, validating a credential issued by an unknown issuer requires
> a complex process of gathering information about that issuer (when
> available), and taking risk-based decisions.
> >>>> In the “qualified attribute attestation” model you just check that
> the attester is listed in the EU trust list, liability is clear.
> >>>> The model has drawbacks as well…
> >>>> Best,
> >>>>
> >>>> --luca
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Da: Steve Capell <steve.capell@gmail.com>
> >>>> Inviato: martedì 3 agosto 2021 02:28
> >>>> A: David Chadwick <d.w.chadwick@verifiablecredentials.info>
> >>>> Cc: public-credentials@w3.org
> >>>> Oggetto: Re: Public consultation on EU digital principles
> >>>>
> >>>> ATTENZIONE: Questa e-mail proviene dall'esterno dell'organizzazione.
> Non cliccare sui link o aprire gli allegati a meno che tu non riconosca il
> mittente e sappia che il contenuto è sicuro.
> >>>> I assumed that it meant a shorter trust chain from the verifier
> perspective
> >>>>
> >>>> For example
> >>>> - option 1: clinic issues covid cert to subject.  Health authority
> issues accreditation cert to clinic.  There is some kind of hash link
> connection from covid vax cert to clinic accreditation cert.  verifier must
> follow links and verify both
> >>>> - option 2: clinic does covid jab and requests certificate issuing
> directly from national authority
> >>>> (Oracle as issuer pattern).  Verifier just verified the one cert and
> trusts the national authority
> >>>>
> >>>> Steven Capell
> >>>> Mob: 0410 437854
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 3 Aug 2021, at 6:11 am, David Chadwick <
> d.w.chadwick@verifiablecredentials.info> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> 
> >>>> Hi Luca
> >>>>
> >>>> I am interested to know how the introduction of an attribute
> attestation service, presumably between the issuer and holder, can shorten
> the trust chain. One would have thought that it would do the opposite
> >>>>
> >>>> Kind regards
> >>>>
> >>>> David
> >>>>
> >>>> On 02/08/2021 17:43, Luca Boldrin wrote:
> >>>> Hi Manu,
> >>>> the consultation is an online survey that anyone can fill in. In
> parallel the EU Commisison is conducting many one-to-one discussions with
> different stakeholders.
> >>>> One of the most relevant aspects under discussion is probably related
> to “attribute attestation service”, which is a trusted third party acting
> on behalf of the issuer (to shorten the trust chain):
> >>>> <image002.jpg>
> >>>> (from https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/76608)
> >>>>
> >>>> I would appreciate any views on that.
> >>>> Best,
> >>>> --luca
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Da: Snorre Lothar von Gohren Edwin <snorre@diwala.io>
> >>>> Inviato: lunedì 2 agosto 2021 15:00
> >>>> A: Manu Sporny <msporny@digitalbazaar.com>
> >>>> Cc: W3C Credentials CG <public-credentials@w3.org>
> >>>> Oggetto: Re: Public consultation on EU digital principles
> >>>>
> >>>> ATTENZIONE: Questa e-mail proviene dall'esterno dell'organizzazione.
> Non cliccare sui link o aprire gli allegati a meno che tu non riconosca il
> mittente e sappia che il contenuto è sicuro.
> >>>> Has anyone attended these or done any consultation?
> >>>> Any specific parts that was addressed?
> >>>> ᐧ
> >>>>
> >>>> On Thu, Jul 8, 2021 at 4:18 PM Manu Sporny <msporny@digitalbazaar.com>
> wrote:
> >>>> For those that don't know about it yet, the EU has opened a
> consultation,
> >>>> running through Sept 2021, to get input on future EU digital
> principles. Folks
> >>>> that have an opinion (I expect many in this group) may want to join
> and
> >>>> provide input.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/europes-digital-decade-commission-launches-consultation-and-discussion-eu-digital-principles
> >>>>
> >>>> -- manu
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Manu Sporny - https://www.linkedin.com/in/manusporny/
> >>>> Founder/CEO - Digital Bazaar, Inc.
> >>>> News: Digital Bazaar Announces New Case Studies (2021)
> >>>> https://www.digitalbazaar.com/
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Snorre Lothar von Gohren Edwin
> >>>> Co-Founder & CTO, Diwala
> >>>> +47 411 611 94
> >>>> www.diwala.io
>
>
>