Ethereum identity management system

• Main Author: Ong, Jing Jie
• Other Authors: Dusit Niyato
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/77252
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The world is slowly but surely going digital. Information is increasingly being stored digitally, and so are our personal information. The concept of digital identity is not a new one. It has been experimented with in various forms, such as in an employee portal. The use of mobile phones to access information is also a growing trend. Thus, it seems logical to combine the two to build digital identity on mobile. This project aims to develop an Android application to store and verify digital identity information. It uses the Ethereum blockchain to store digital identity documents and their associated keys in order to prevent tampering by a third party. The information being sent from one party to another is verified using the keys stored in the blockchain. All documents follow the formats proposed by the W3C Credentials Working Group, and this allows the format of the documents to be standardised and easily verifiable. Verification is done via digital signatures, which prevents unauthorised modification of the information while it are being sent or received. While the information is being transmitted, RSA encryption is used to preserve confidentiality. Only the sender and receiver will have the keys needed to decrypt the information. The receiver can then retrieve the public key specified in the credential from the Ethereum blockchain and use it to verify the information received. With the use of a public key infrastructure via the blockchain, and the secure storage and transmission of information via end-to-end encryption, information can be exchanged and verified securely. With this system in place, digital identities can be created, verified and used easily and safely.