front matter

 

Self-Sovereign Identity offers a new perspective on one of the most important challenges of society and computing: safely managing our digital identities. As early adopters and leaders in this area, Drummond Reed and Alex Preukschat are uniquely able to introduce the technology and potential of SSI. In this book, you’ll enjoy not just their insights, but also the experiences of many other leading practitioners.

Most of what we call “identity” isn’t. It’s identifiers. It’s how some organization identifies you: as a citizen, a driver, a member, a student. Those organizations may issue you an “ID” in the form of a passport, license, or membership card, but that isn’t your identity. It’s their identifier. Your identity—how you are known to yourself and to others—is something else: something much more personal and under your control as a self-sovereign human being.

Self-sovereign identity (SSI) gives you control over what others need to verify about you, on a need-to-know basis. Simply put, it replaces identifiers with verifiable credentials. And, in the process, it greatly simplifies and speeds up the way identity works in the digital world for both individuals and organizations.

preface

acknowledgments

about this book

Who should read this book

About the code

liveBook discussion forum

Other online resources

about the authors

about the cover illustration