In a recent TimesTech interview, Dhiway’s leaders shared their pioneering mission to foster trust and innovation in the digital landscape. By leveraging innovative strategies, Dhiway addresses the trust deficit in digital interactions. Mr. Amar Tumballi, Co Founder & Vice President Engineering, decades of software experience, leads the integration of their transformative CORD blockchain. This integration establishes trust and enables cost-effective data transactions, while Substrate-based verifiable credentials reshape digital identity management. With off-chain data storage, encryption, and access controls, Dhiway ensures GDPR and CCPA compliance while maintaining security. The synergy of Dhiway’s mission, Substrate’s power, and open standards heralds a new era of digital trust and innovation.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: What is Dhiway’s mission in fostering innovation and economic growth in the digital landscape?
Amar Tumballi: Dhiway’s mission is to drive belief, confidence, and absolute certainty throughout the digital world. We believe that digital interactions can be enhanced through the introduction of innovative approaches which address the trust deficit. Today, when anyone is looking at an element of digital data they have received it is difficult to determine the authenticity and provenance of it. The inevitable question is – do I trust this?
The trust deficit requires organizations and individuals to create cumbersome processes to verify and determine the trustworthiness of the data object they are dealing with. In turn this makes data exchange expensive. At Dhiway we are working on ways to reduce this friction so that data transactions between parties can contribute to the growth story instead of being bogged down in complicated procedures. We do this by using established open standards-based approaches such as Verifiable Credentials. Our CORD blockchain enables new capabilities such as unique, persistent identifiers and data registries which help establish authoritative (trust) registries leading to better interactions.
TimesTech: How does Amar Tumballi’s extensive experience contribute to Dhiway’s transformative outcomes?
Amar Tumballi: The founding team of Dhiway brings forth a set of complementary capabilities. With over 18 years in the startup ecosystem, I’ve witnessed the growth and transformation of numerous ventures. At Dhiway, I’ve applied this experience to the identity and verifiable credential domain. My primary focus has been on the development of Cord, our layer-1 blockchain, which emphasizes the immutability of data.
TimesTech: How will Dhiway’s platform for verifiable credentialing using Substrate revolutionize digital identity management?
Amar Tumballi: Dhiway has developed and made available #MARK Studio a credential lifecycle management platform. The general availability of an easy way to transform any data or documented into a secure, portable, tamper-resistant verifiable credential is a way to establish a strong foundation of digital identifiers. Today, there exist foundational identifiers such as Aadhaar and others. As an individual goes through life acquiring additional proof of their accomplishments or achievements in digital form, the introduction of verifiable credentials ensures that high-trust-low-cost data exchange mechanisms can be brought about.
Our digital interactions are built around many digital identifiers – to be able to establish the identity in human-intervention centric interactions or proximity-based interactions creates many opportunities for efficiency and better data governance. The management of digital identifiers is about the ability to go beyond a “point in time” verification of a data object and instead enable a “continuous assurance flow” which allows relying parties to have better insights.
TimesTech: How does Dhiway plan to leverage mobile, web, and high-tech interests for data privacy and security solutions?
Amar Tumballi: Digitally verifiable credentials anchored on the blockchain are a way in which data is presented. This presentation allows anyone to verify the origin or source of the data, examine the changes if any made to the data object and determine if the data object has been issued to the recipient. The simplicity of this model means that organizations which are seeking to undertake a digital transformation from legacy systems such as printed records to more modern approach can use credentials with a #MARK – a trust mark which enables instant verification. And if the organization has already made progress on the transformation and have adopted newer technology architecture – they can benefit from having credentials in a secure store such as a digital wallet.
This spectrum of possibilities come with a set of capabilities around selective disclosure of data, management of notice and consent as well as handling of authentication. In a digital wallet centric flow the fullest set of capabilities are available since in this approach the holder of the credential has the agency to determine what parts of the information to disclose, for how long to share and of course consent to the sharing of information upon a request.
Today, our credential lifecycle management platform #MARK Studio enables an organization to issue large volumes of verifiable credentials which can be delivered to the recipients over email or to their wallets. These credentials are anchored on the blockchain where the design ensures that no personally identifiable information (PII) is anchored to the chain.
TimesTech: Can you provide examples of Dhiway’s measures like encryption and access controls to protect user data?
Amar Tumballi: Our approach to protecting user data and fostering trust in digital interactions involves a combination of off-chain data storage, on-chain proofs, encryption, and key-based access control mechanisms. Here’s a detailed explanation:
Off-Chain Data
- Storage Flexibility: Off-chain data model allows organizations or individuals to store data in an infrastructure of their choice, whether it’s a private database or secure cloud storage.
- Enhanced Security: By keeping the actual data off the public blockchain, sensitive information remains private and protected from unauthorized access.
- Encryption: The off-chain data is encrypted using the data owner’s key, ensuring that only the owner or authorized parties can access and view the data.
On-Chain Proofs
- Verification and Authenticity: Proofs or cryptographic references to the data are stored on the CORD blockchain (on-chain). These can be used by receivers or third parties to verify the authenticity of the shared information.
- Transparency and Trust: The immutable nature of the blockchain ensures that the proofs cannot be altered, providing transparency, and building trust.
- Efficiency: Storing only proofs on-chain minimizes storage requirements on the blockchain, leading to more efficient operations.
Key-Based Access Control Mechanisms
- Delegations: Dhiway implements key-based access control to manage permissions and delegations, allowing organizations to create specific delegation capabilities and define who can access, manage, and control the data.
- Recovery: Mechanisms for recovery from key loss or key compromise add resilience to the system.
The integration of off-chain data with on-chain proofs creates a seamless interaction where data can be securely stored and controlled by the owner, while still allowing for verifiable sharing and exchange.
In summary, Dhiway’s measures to protect user data include a thoughtful combination of off-chain data storage, encryption with owner-specific keys, and key-based access controls. This approach offers a balanced solution that combines the flexibility and security of off-chain storage with the transparency and verifiability of on-chain proofs.
TimesTech: How does Dhiway ensure GDPR and CCPA compliance while maintaining innovation and user trust?
Amar Tumballi: Data regulation regimes around personal data focus on three key aspects – increasing the agency and control of the data subject; enabling better sharing and exchange of data by creating scope and purpose; mitigating the risks of data exposure by enforcing better separation of concerns especially related to personal data.
The CORD blockchain which is the underlying infrastructure for the CORD Network has been designed keeping in mind these requirements. The unique, persistent digital identifiers help in keeping track of changing datasets but do not expose any PII as that data is not anchored on the chain. The data registries which are enabled by the issuance of credentials do not contain any PII which can be breached and exploited. This approach to separating the concerns around data enables better data governance and reduces the risks from any access to the data store.
TimesTech: How does Substrate enhance security and align with Dhiway’s objectives for verifiable credentialing?
Amar Tumballi: Dhiway stands as a transformative force in the digital identity arena. Our core business is centred around redefining and reshaping online trust through innovative technologies. We delve deep into creating transparent and adaptable digital identities that are recognised and continuously validated for their genuineness. Dhiway’s adherence to open standards reinforces this alignment, promoting interoperability and transparency. Dhiway’s mission, the Substrate framework, and open standards form a synergistic triad that paves the way for better digital interactions. This alignment embodies Dhiway’s ambitious goals, fostering a secure and transparent digital environment that reduces friction in data transactions and elevates the overall trust and confidence in the digital world.
