Today's identity security faces challenges like misuse and tracking. Our goal is to enable secure, anonymous, unlinkable E-ID interactions by researching novel cryptographic algorithms. This boosts user trust, creates new business opportunities, and cuts financial losses after data breaches.

Executive Summary

In today's digital landscape, securing and preserving the privacy of electronic identities is a significant challenge. Identity misuse, data collection, and profiling are widespread concerns impacting individuals, organizations, and governments. The Swiss government decided to roll out its E-ID system in two stages, the second stage needs to fulfill even more stringent privacy-preserving features.

Our solution addresses this second stage by leveraging cutting-edge privacy-preserving technologies, such as unlinkable signatures, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and cryptographic accumulators. This enables fast, succinct, anonymous, and unlinkable interactions, to enhance trust in E-IDs. This innovative approach has immense potential, applicable not only in Switzerland but also in the EU and beyond, standardizing digital IDs and reducing fragmentation.

Work Packages

This Innosuisse project focuses on researching cryptographic algorithms to fit the given requirements of a privacy-preserving, unlinkable E-ID system. Most of the research will be spent on modifying existing algorithms so they fit together: device binding using an ECDSA signature, keeping the proofs unlinkable between verifiers, allowing for generic predicates, and proving the credential has not been revoked yet. The main challenge here is to do this in a reasonable amount of time and space, without using third parties which would remove the privacy guarantees given by a Self Sovereign System.

Business Opportunities

The introduction of sovereign digital identities presents significant revenue growth opportunities. Digital ID systems could contribute to a 3-13% GDP increase by 2030, according to McKinsey research. Ensuring compliance with emerging regulations like the Swiss e-ID will create new opportunities across various sectors like finance and healthcare. Addressing privacy challenges effectively allows to cut financial losses from data breaches (averaging $4.88 million per incident) and capitalize on the growing demand for trusted identity solutions.