21A/ DIDComm and the Self-Sovereign Internet

DIDComm and the Self-Sovereign Internet

Thursday 21A

Convener: Phil Windley

Notes-taker(s):  Phil Windley

Discussion notes, key understandings, outstanding questions, observations, and, if appropriate to this discussion: action items, next steps: 

Link to Phil’s Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1h0qi2qyGwM30DHpRAXW_Y0bBneo9xMEFZh1rIAeRa-E/edit?usp=sharing

Summary: DIDComm is the messaging protocol that provides utility for DID-based relationships. DIDComm is more than just a way to exchange credentials, it's a protocol layer capable of supporting specialized application protocols for specific workflows. Because of its general nature and inherent support for self-sovereign relationships, DIDComm provides a basis for a self-sovereign internet much more private, enabling, and flexible than the one we've built using Web 2.0 technologies.

DID-based relationships are the foundation of self-sovereign identity (SSI). The exchange of DIDs to form a connection with another party gives both parties a relationship that is self-certifying and mutually authenticated. Further, the connection forms a secure messaging channel called DID Communication or DIDComm. DIDComm messaging is more important than most understand, providing a secure, interoperable, and flexible general messaging overlay for the entire internet.

Most people familiar with SSI equate DIDComm with verifiable credential exchange, but it's much more than that. Credential exchange is just one of an infinite variety of protocols that can ride on top of the general messaging protocol that DIDComm provides. Comparing DIDComm to the venerable TCP/IP protocol suite does not go too far. Just as numerous application protocols ride on top of TCP/IP, so too can various application protocols take advantage of DIDComm's secure messaging overlay network. The result is more than a secure messaging overlay for the internet, it is the foundation for a self-sovereign internet with all that that implies.

Because of the self-sovereign nature of agents and the flexibility and interoperable characteristics they gain from DIDComm, they form the basis for new, more empowering internet. While self-sovereign identity is the current focus of DIDComm, its capabilities exceed what many think of as "identity." When you combine the vast landscape of potential verifiable credentials with DIDComm's ability to create custom message-based workflows to support very specific interactions, it's easy to imagine that the DIDComm protocol and the heterarchical network of agents it enables will have an impact as large as the web, perhaps the internet itself.

More here: https://www.windley.com/archives/2020/11/didcomm_and_the_self-sovereign_internet.shtml