Self-sovereign identity framework with user-friendly private key generation and rule table

Abstract

The rise of self-sovereign identity (SSI) technology plays a critical role in addressing the limitations of conventional digital identity management systems. This paper focuses on the credential layer within the SSI technology stack, presenting a comprehensive solution to challenges related to usability, inefficient encryption and decryption processes, and verifiable credential management in existing SSI frameworks. To tackle these issues, the proposed approach introduces a user-friendly private key generation method, a rule table-based encryption and decryption technique, and a verifiable credential management system using smart contracts. In a usability evaluation involving 58 participants, 74.1% rated the proposed approach as user-friendly. Performance evaluations demonstrated that the rule table-based encryption method is between 10.37 and 171.51 times faster than existing encryption techniques. Similarly, the decryption process showed significant improvements, achieving performance that is 16.94 to 58.68 times faster than traditional methods. Security analyses were also conducted, highlighting the resilience against brute-force attacks and unauthorized access. The impact of this research extends beyond addressing current limitations, offering a robust and efficient framework that enhances the usability, security, and performance of SSI systems. By advancing the credential layer, this work paves the way for broader adoption of SSI technology across diverse applications, contributing to the evolution of decentralized identity management solutions.