Christian Paquin - Enhancing Identity Credential Privacy with Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Outlines christian Paquin - Enhancing Identity Credential Privacy with Zero-Knowledge Proofs and evaluates key implications for security practitioners.
Summary
Privacy motivation
Christian Paquin at NorthSec revisits zero-knowledge ideas from his early Zero Knowledge Systems career, now resonating alongside zero trust. He focuses on minimizing data disclosed when digital identity credentials replace physical IDs such as Quebec driver's licenses used for age checks.
Over-disclosure today
Showing a full license online or to websites exposes name, address, and residence data beyond what verifiers need, and issuers learn where credentials are used when attributes are fetched on demand via OAuth-style JWT flows.
Selective disclosure credentials
He contrasts long-lived X.509 certificates with ubiquitous signed JWTs that cannot be redacted without breaking signatures. New ISO mobile driver's license and SD-JWT profiles hash salted attributes so holders reveal only chosen pre-images, enabling minimal claims such as boolean over-18 without leaking birthdates, while keeping issuer-backed authenticity.
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