GFT SSI Series: Building one of the First Digital Identity Platform in EMEA region

GFT’s client supports a dozen academies that allow the local workforce to enhance their professional skills and support the diversification of the local economy away from oil and gas.

Through interviews with staff at one of these academies, GFT learned that thousands of certificates issued since its creation had been issued manually, and no automated system existed, making the process prone to typos and errors.  The manual issuance is slow and labor-intensive, contributing to higher certificate issuance costs. Furthermore, each academy has its own set of issuance processes, creating significant inefficiencies compared with using a shared infrastructure and shared services. This burden is also imposed on the students, who often face the arduous task of contacting multiple certification issuers to validate their academic achievements.

Furthermore, the absence of a standardized approach to digital identity verification further complicates matters, leaving room for inconsistencies and potential security breaches.

GFT's solution is a comprehensive digital identity platform that streamlines the issuance and management of digital identities and certificates through intuitive UIs and APIs. At the core of this platform is the concept of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), which empowers trusted academies to issue verifiable certificates whose proof is recorded on-chain. The status of these certificates is accessible in real time to all ecosystem stakeholders while giving complete data ownership to the certificate holders—the students.

The platform leverages advanced technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and smart contracts based on Polygon DID SDK to ensure the integrity and security of the certificates. Zero-knowledge proofs allow students to provide indisputable proof of their credentials without revealing sensitive information. For example, a student can prove that their score exceeds a certain threshold without disclosing their actual score to a potential employer. Smart contracts verify that a trusted academy issued the certificate and that the digital proof is recorded on a permissioned version of Hyperledger Besu, ensuring transparency and trust.

Additionally, all platform participants undergo a rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) process and identity checks before they can issue, verify, or hold certificates. This thorough vetting process ensures only verified and trustworthy entities and individuals join the ecosystem.

GFT's digital identity platform introduces significant benefits by creating efficiency gains and reducing the need for manual operations. Automating certificate validation accelerates hiring processes and lowers costs, benefiting employers and students. The platform includes three key applications:

1. Mobile Wallet: The wallet gives students complete data ownership, allowing them to manage and share their certificates securely.
2. Issuance Website: The issuance portal streamlines the certificate issuance process for academies. The certificate issuance is standardized, transparent, and reliable.
3. Verification Website: The verification portal allows employers to quickly and accurately verify the qualifications of candidates, easing the hiring process.

GFT’s platform introduces a new paradigm for data ownership and sharing by leveraging digital identities, verifiable credentials, and zero-knowledge proofs. Students have complete control over their information and can only share it with consent. This active approval process ensures that data sharing is always intentional and secure.

GFT's digital identity platform is a groundbreaking solution that addresses the pressing challenges of certificate management. By combining advanced technologies with a focus on trust and security, GFT sets a new standard for digital identity management, paving the way for a more efficient, secure, and trustworthy system for all stakeholders involved.