on

I covered this topic in the news and it's something that I was just kind of mulling over. I haven't submitted anything like this before, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes.

Since I believe a biometric approach will be utilized for the identity system I think that a decentralized database that has a relative layer of obfuscation for those records is necessary. Thus it can be ensured that the biometric information of individuals cannot be maliciously misused. It would be a big problem if the database of everyone's personal records got hacked, for instance.

Can't we use zero knowledge proofs to keep this information private and secure? I think we could hash the data off chain and then provide the proof for an onchain verification.

I think a state sanctioned oracle ought to be involved for the initial "scan" wherein the biometric information is encrypted for later use in identity verification. Look no further than Estonia for a good reference to this. Once someone's information is secured in this way their eyescan, fingerprint, or whatever metric used to undeniably idnentify that person, becomes the private key.

Why not assign a wallet that, rather than storing a cryptocurrency, stores interactions with state agencies?

I think a smart contract would be best to manage the verification process and I believe there are already consensus mechanisms that would lend themselves well to the automation of this process.

So to make this work it'd take a series of nodes, or servers set up to act as a database layer with a decentralized protocol and automated consensus mechanism automated and enabled via smart contracts.

On top of that layer will be technology like readers and scanners that can differentiate between the various biometric readings and match them properly with the aforementioned wallet address associated with the hashed proof of identity which is hidden by zero knowledge proofs.

This is just a rough idea. There are a bunch of holes in it I'll bet too. But with only five days left and only two ideas submitted I wanted to throw this one into the ring.

There are a lot of dedicate and intelligent people who know a LOT more about this than I do, and I would ask any of them who happen to read this to see where I'm wrong, and put me on the right path. Perhaps you might even lend a hand to this project. I'm happy to share my thoughts and ideas in the hope that they contribute to an overarching dialogue that benefits the people who need this solution most.