Re: Centralization dangers of applying OpenID Connect to wallets protocols (was: Re: 2022-2026 Verifiable Data Standards Roadmap [DRAFT])

On 3/24/22 8:08 PM, Andrew Hughes wrote:
> Maybe we can encourage the platforms to get their act together and work on
> a common mechanism for web-to-app calling? Rather than everyone making
> weird hacks?

I know you're kinda-sorta-joking-and-also-kinda-sorta-serious... but that's
exactly why CHAPI was created (and is built in the way that it is) -- it is
the common platform mechanism you're asking us to encourage:

https://w3c-ccg.github.io/credential-handler-api/#extension-to-the-serviceworkerregistration-interface

I mean, CHAPI does more than just what you said -- it can support
web-to-web-app and web-to-native-app (and back) interactions. It enables
same-device decentralized wallet selection while simultaneously solving the
NASCAR problem. Nothing in OpenID land even attempts to do that.

However, we know the browser vendors aren't going to be interested in
implementing it if that thing 1) never exists in a form they understand (CHAPI
spec), and 2) doesn't have lots of deployments (implementations).

Clearly, #2 above is a catch 22 if you can never deploy it... which is why
CHAPI is a polyfill today. A polyfill adds functionality to a browser TODAY
that could eventually become native code NEXT YEAR. We also do this to not be
beholden to the browser vendors (begging doesn't work with those folks), and
we harden ourselves further from browser vendor attacks on the polyfill by
using broadly deployed features.

This approach has gotten CHAPI working for same-device Verifiable Presentation
flows across 95%+ of the browsers out there today... which is why I keep
harping on this point -- OIDC/SIOP doesn't do this... at all.

Why do people keep thinking it does?

-- 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/

Received on Friday, 25 March 2022 01:37:12 UTC