---
title: "Resources and Introduction to Decentralized Identity"
description: Getting Started with Decentralized, Self Sovereign, Digital Identity
excerpt: >
  The essence of Decentralized-ID is in creating open standards for a privacy preserving internet-wide identity layer — not owned by any one particular organization, but interoperable between all.

  It's impossible to have a conversation about decentralized-id without discussing blockchain, self sovereign identity, standardization, frameworks, and government bodies.
permalink: /resources/getting-started/
redirect_from:
  - /introduction/ 
  - /getting-started/
  - /resources/
toc: true
categories: ["Resources"]
tags: ["101","Resources"]
last_modified_at: 2023-06-29
---

## Essence of Decentralized Identity

The essence of Decentralized-ID is in creating open standards for a privacy preserving internet-wide identity layer — not owned by any one particular organization, but interoperable between all.

### Background
It's impossible to have a conversation about decentralized-id without discussing blockchain, self sovereign identity, standardization, frameworks, and government bodies.

* Cryptographers, privacy advocates and digital identity enthusiasts [laid the foundation](/history/) by deeply considering the privacy implications of identification practices in the electronic world.
  * [Self Sovereign Identity principles emerged]({% link _posts/topics/2018-12-22-characteristics-principles.md %}) from their work, gathering momentum as the digital age began to settle in.* The European Union's GDPR enlarged the global conversation around digital privacy practices, lending much weight to the SSI credo.
* The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also fueled efforts towards a global and widely accessible identity solution.
* Satoshi Nakamoto released [Bitcoin](https://bitcoinfo.xyz), proving the concept of digital scarcity in the form of a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) currency, inspiring leaders in every industry to integrate it's features to their business models.
* At the same time, [Decentralized web](https://sourcecrypto.pub/decentralized-web/) and P2P technologists have also lent strength to Decentralized Identity efforts.
* Collectively arrived at solutions are trending towards congruence with the spirit of innovation, privacy concerns, and compliance within the evolving global regulatory landscape.
{: .notice--info}

## Getting Started with Decentralized, Self Sovereign, Digital Identity
* [Decentralized identity: The Direct Presentation model](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/identity-standards-blog/decentralized-identity-the-direct-presentation-model/ba-p/3071981) 2022-02-02 Microsoft
  > The technical name for the model at work here is called the Direct Presentation model. A credential is issued, and then held for a long period of time with intermittent voluntary presentations to many different verifiers. To put that back into our example, my auto club issues me a card, which I hold in my wallet for years (maybe decades!), and I might choose to show that card to a garage when I need a tow, or possibly to a store to get a discount.
  ![](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/344648i845AB748FB3E8433/image-dimensions/600x204?v=v2)
* [New to the topic of self-sovereign identity?](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1405788127265005571.html) 2021-06-18 SSIAmbassador
  > No problem, there are several beginner #guides, which you can use to get familiar with the new standard for digital #identity.
* [Video] [Understanding the SSI Identity Model with Verifiable Credentials](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRuz39SEX7E) 2021-11-13 Manning
  > Drummond Reed, an expert in Internet identity, security, privacy, and trust frameworks, explains the basic building blocks of SSI and how this new identity model fundamentally works. 
* [Video] [Karyl Fowler (Transmute) and Juan Caballero (DIF) present Intro to SSI at #IIW31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaM0UtQTLCs) 2020-10 Keryl Fowler, Juan Caballero [Slides](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_9jCcxgcCrL4Dfjvr4z7XSIwxfadjveR/view?usp=sharingQ)
  > Karyl and Juan revisited their slide deck from #IIW30 to give an overview of decentralized identity first as a "philosophy" at the confluence of ideological currents (Juan), and then as a set of specific emerging technologies which unlocks new mental models and business models that are still coming into focus sector by sector (Karyl). There follows a brief overview of educational resources, including some products of DIF's recent educational "content sprint," and a wide-ranging Q&A including podcast recommendations and how to navigate open standards for the first time.  The slides are here, in downloadable and hyperlinked PDF form:
  > ![](https://i.imgur.com/d0pTD8q.png)
* [What Is Self-Sovereign Identity?](https://trinsic.id/what-is-self-sovereign-identity/) 2020-04-28 Trinsic
  > Self-sovereign identity is the marriage of real identity with the digital world that will ultimately make people’s lives better.² It’s still in its infancy, and there is a long road ahead to truly make digital identity as legitimate and nuanced as a real-world identity.
* [Explaining SSI to C-suite executives, and anyone else for that matter – John Phillips](https://ssimeetup.org/explaining-ssi-c-suite-executives-anyone-else-john-phillips-webinar-48/) 2020-02-18 SSIMeetup
  > John Phillips from 460degrees in Australia has been exploring with his team for more than two years for a way to describe Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) that was easy to understand. We think he has found a good method to make SSI easy to understand for any C-suite executive and business people that goes beyond the technology.
* [The Need for Good Digital ID is Universal](https://id2020.org/digital-identity) 2019-02-26 ID2020 Foundation
  > The ability to prove who you are is a fundamental and universal human right. Because we live in a digital era, we need a trusted and reliable way to do that both in the physical world and online.
* [The Laws of Identity](http://www.windley.com/archives/2019/01/the_laws_of_identity.shtml) 2019-01 Phil Windley
  > The Internet was created without any way to identify the people who used it. The Internet was a network of machines. Consequently, all the identity in Internet protocols is designed to identify machines and services. People used the Internet through some institution (their company or university) and were part of that institution's administrative identity system. This can still be seen in the format of email addresses that identify both recipient and sender as someone@someplace. As the Internet grew to include people who weren't formally associated with an institution, every Web site and service created their own administrative identity domains. The result is the fractured plethora of identifiers, policies, and user experiences that constitute digital identity in 2019.
* [The Inevitable Rise of Self-Sovereign Identity](https://sovrin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Inevitable-Rise-of-Self-Sovereign-Identity.pdf) 2018-03 Sovrin Foundation
  > This lack of secure, portable, user-controlled identity has some dire consequences. It means that a person’s identity and personal data only exists within the context of each specific website or application he or she uses. Stop using the site or application and the person’s digital existence is meaningless. And a user’s control over their identity and data must be exerted on a site-by-site, app-by-app basis.
* [The Rising Tide of Decentralized Identity](https://medium.com/decentralized-identity/the-rising-tide-of-decentralized-identity-2e163e4ec663) 2017-10-11 Decentralized Identity Foundation
  > Creating a unified decentralized identity ecosystem requires addressing a set of fundamental user needs and technical challenges:
  > - Enabling registration of self-sovereign identifiers that no provider owns or controls.
  > - The ability to lookup and discover identifiers and data across decentralized systems.
  > - Providing a mechanism for users to securely store sensitive identity data, and enabling them to precisely control what is shared with others.
  > ![](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/format:webp/1*zzyFrx56I_SzDEUxEglCjw.png)
* [The Case for Decentralized Identity](https://www.windley.com/archives/2017/08/the_case_for_decentralized_identity.shtml) 2017-08 Phil Windley
  > We cannot decentralize many interesting systems without also decentralizing the identity systems upon which they rely. We're finally in a position to create truly decentralized systems for digital identity.
* [The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity](https://github.com/ChristopherA/self-sovereign-identity/blob/master/ThePathToSelf-SovereignIdentity.md) 2017-03-01 Christopher Allen
  > Self-sovereign identity is the next step beyond user-centric identity and that means it begins at the same place: the user must be central to the administration of identity. That requires not just the interoperability of a user’s identity across multiple locations, with the user’s consent, but also true user control of that digital identity, creating user autonomy. To accomplish this, a self-sovereign identity must be transportable; it can’t be locked down to one site or locale.
* [A Technology‐Free Definition of Self‐Sovereign Identity](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jandrieu/rebooting-the-web-of-trust-fall2016/master/topics-and-advance-readings/a-technology-free-definition-of-self-sovereign-identity.pdf) 2016-10 Joe Andrieu RWoT3
  > Abstract The desire for increased control over our identity has catapulted the idea of “self‐sovereign identity” into the forefront of digital identity innovation, yet the term lacks a rigorous definition beyond specific technical implementations1. This paper explores what self‐sovereign identity means independent of technology: what people need from independent identity capabilities. I want to understand how such a system enables both individuals whose identities are in play (subjects), as well as those who use those “identities” to correlate interactions across contexts (observers). I start with grounding individual sovereignty in the Enlightenment and identity in its core function of correlation, then propose core characteristics of a self‐sovereign identity system. My eventual goal is to model the technology‐independent requirements of a self‐sovereign solution suitable for realizing UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9: “Providing every last person on the planet with a legal identity by 2030.”

{% include video id="DaM0UtQTLCs" provider="youtube" %}

## Digital Identity 101
If you're looking to freshen up on your digital identity fundamentals, the following resources will be a good place to start.

* [Why do you care about identity?](https://wider.team/2022/01/18/phil-cares-about-identity/) 2022-01-18 Phil Wolff 
  > I love that it’s more than a technical discussion. It’s laws. Sociology. Politics and civics. Commerce. Psychology. Ethics. History. Economy. All the humanities.
  > 
  > Identity touches everything. It always will. Computation and communication continue their pervasion, and identity spreads with them.
* [Difference Between Authentication and Authorization](https://www.beyondtrust.com/blog/entry/understanding-authentication-vs-authorization) 2020-10-19 Beyond Trust
  > What is the difference between authentication (authN) versus authorization (authZ)? While these two fundamental security terms are often confused with each other, the only real similarity is they both begin with the letter “A” and are linked by an account. In concept, one verifies the account (authentication) and the other sanctions (authorization) the account to perform a task. Because these terms are so fundamental, it’s crucial to understand the difference between them, and the implications for each when the concepts are blended
* [Guide to Digital Identity — Part 1](https://medium.com/@dip_ak/guide-to-digital-identity-part-1-4b7c8fe45ee1) 2020-04-08 Deepak Gupta
  > Are you curious about the Digital Identity Ecosystem? If you have been looking for a good, reliable and easy-to-understand source of information and haven’t had any luck, then this article is for you.
* [Member Presentations](https://idpro.org/educational-resources/) Identiverse 2019 [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpKq7xRiIHaTDwAqpIU1UYpKZY03tfTMf)
    * [2019 - Introduction to Identity Part 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5w1EXqMqR0&list=PLpKq7xRiIHaTDwAqpIU1UYpKZY03tfTMf) 2019-06-25 Identiverse
      > This workshop — provided by IDPro — will provide a comprehensive (and fun) introductory view of the identity world that will give participants a solid understanding of IAM’s foundations. Part 1 of this 2-part class begins with the basics like directories, identity proofing, provisioning, authentication (including multi-factor), authorization, as well as federation technologies like SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect. In Part 2, we build on those foundational technologies to explain PKI & digital certificates, privileged access management, identity for IoT, identity assurance, privacy issues, identity standards organizations, and even known attack vectors.
    * [Introduction to Identity Part 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxKRUXmTLJs)  2019-06-25 Identiverse
    * [Modern Identity for Developers 101](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWpqFWz_9II) 2019-06-25 Identiverse
      > Modern identity promises to solve some of the thorniest problems that historically plagued handling authentication and access control in applications. That sounds great in theory, but how do thinks really look like when the rubber hits the road – what does it take to incorporate modern identity in your applications development practice? Come to this session to learn the basis of modern identity development and be better equipped to understand and participate to the session in this year’s Identiverse development track.
    * [An Introduction to Mobile Identity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25qiVyZEZOg&list=PLpKq7xRiIHaTDwAqpIU1UYpKZY03tfTMf&index=18) 2019-06-25 Identiverse
* [What is Identity and Access Management and Why is it a Vital IT Security Layer?](https://www.beyondtrust.com/blog/entry/what-is-identity-and-access-management-and-why-is-it-a-vital-it-security-layer) 2018-11-29 Beyond Trust
  > Identity and Access Management (IAM), also called identity management, refers to the IT security discipline, framework, and solutions for managing digital identities. Identity management encompasses the provisioning and de-provisioning of identities, securing and authentication of identities, and the authorization to access resources and/or perform certain actions. While a person (user) has only one singular digital identity, they may have many different accounts representing them. Each account can have different access controls, both per resource and per context.
* [What is Digital Identity?](https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/what-is-digital-identity-c77983c03306) 2018-06-04 Humanizing the Internet
  > The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis, also known as the principle of linguistic relativity, posits that language constructs our reality and worldview. While the hypothesis has been contested over the years, language is unarguably fundamental to the models of the world we build in our heads — and in our systems.
  
![](https://i.imgur.com/9KpJRDr.png)

## Glossaries

* [Aries RFC 0006: SSI Notation](https://github.com/hyperledger/aries-rfcs/blob/main/concepts/0006-ssi-notation/README.md) 2019-06-20 Daniel Hardman Hyperledger Foundation
  > This RFC describes a simple, standard notation for various concepts related to decentralized and self-sovereign identity (SSI).
* [IDCommongs - Lexicon](http://wiki.idcommons.org/Lexicon) 2014-08-18 IDCommons
* [Identipedia](http://wiki.idcommons.org/Identipedia) 2008-01-22 IDCommons
* [Systemic Elements](http://wiki.idcommons.org/Systemic_Elements) 2008-01-22 IDCommons

## Resources

* [Directory] [Global Verifiable Credential Adoption](https://trinsic.notion.site/trinsic/Global-Verifiable-Credential-Adoption-78c7e4c5f2a34a228a55d03db54ab399) 2023-07-05 Trinsic
  > 🔥 This is a community resource for tracking the adoption of verifiable credentials around the world. Please have a look around and join 10+ others who have contributed!
* [Curated List] [animo/awesome-self-sovereign-identity/](https://github.com/animo/awesome-self-sovereign-identity) 2023-07-07 Animo
  > An awesome list of self-sovereign identity resources. 
* [Blog] [Phil Windley - Tags: identity](http://www.windley.com/tags/identity.shtml) 2023-06-26 [[Videos](https://vimeo.com/windley/videos)]
  > Phil Windley is a Senior Software Development Manager at AWS Identity. He is also the co-founder and organizer of the [Internet Identity Workshop](http://internetidentityworkshop.com/). [...] He was the Founding Chair of the Sovrin Foundation serving from 2016 to 2020, writes the popular Technometria blog, and is the author of the books [Learning Digital Identity](https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-digital-identity/9781098117689/) (O'Reilly, Media 2023),  [The Live Web](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1133686680/windleyofente-20) (Course Technology, 2011), and [Digital Identity](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596008783/windleyofente-20) (O'Reilly Media, 2005). Phil has been a computer science professor at BYU and the University of Idaho, founder and CTO of several internet technology companies, and served as CIO for the State of Utah.
* [Blog] [Identity Woman](https://identitywoman.net/) 2023-06-13 
  > Kaliya Young (formerly Hamlin) is an expert in self-sovereign identity and identity on the blockchain. She is the co-author of a Comprehensive guide to Self-Sovereign Identity and is widely known as Identity Woman (its also the name of her blog and her twitter handle). She is committed her life to the development of an open standards based layer of the internet that empowers people.
* [Publication] [SSI Meetup](http://ssimeetup.org/) 2023-06-20 [[Slides](https://www.slideshare.net/SSIMeetup/presentations/)] [[Videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSqSTlKdbbCM1muGOhDa3Og)]
  > To create Self-Sovereign Identity, knowledge tools and empower SSI evangelists around the world to set-up their own local communities without boundaries. The only focus is to make SSI happen with Blockchain & other technologies.
* [Curated List] [karimStekelenburg/awesome-self-sovereign-identity](https://github.com/karimStekelenburg/awesome-self-sovereign-identity) 2023-06-07 Karim Stekelnburg
  >  An awesome list of self-sovereign identity resources. 
* [Blog] [Identity Woman in Business](https://medium.com/@identitywoman-in-business) 2023-05-31
  > We provide consulting and advisory services to organizations across the world to help them succeed in adopting, developing and investing in Decentralized ID.
* [Wiki] [IIW-Wiki](https://iiw.idcommons.net/Main_Page) 2023-01-05 IDCommons [[Past Workshop Proceedings](https://internetidentityworkshop.com/past-workshops/)]
  > The Internet Identity Workshop has been finding, probing and solving identity issues twice every year since 2005. We meet in the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Every IIW moves topics, code and projects downfield. Name an identity topic and it’s likely that more substantial discussion and work has been done at IIW than any other conference!
* [Collection] [WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-id/](https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/self-sovereign-identity) 2022-12-07 Rebooting Web of Trust
  >  Articles and documents associated with designing and implementing identity technology using self-sovereign identity principles 
* [Course] [Getting Started with Self-Sovereign Identity](https://www.edx.org/course/getting-started-with-self-sovereign-identity) 2022-10-05 Kaliya & Lucy via Linux Foundation and EdX
  > Gain a solid foundation on self-sovereign identity (SSI) with a 360 degree overview of its evolutionary journey, key concepts, standards, technological building blocks, use cases, real-world examples and implementation considerations.
* [Directory] [The open SSI / DID Directory](https://ssi-did-directory.gitbook.io/open-directory-for-all/) 2022-09-24 Open DID \ SSI Directory
  > Important: This directory is here for all of us to learn. You do not have to be technical to contribute, but we expect you to do your research before you contribute. We are blockchain agnostic.
* [Knowledgebase] [DIF "Frequently Asked Questions"](https://identity.foundation/faq/) 2022-07-08
  > This is the Decentralized Identity Foundation’s general-purpose knowledgebase, which aims to help people at all levels of familiarity with our problem space quickly level-set and find the most useful links and ideas as they explore the space. It is structures as a (very exhaustive) list of questions and answers. Feel free to share “anchor links” to specific questions using the § symbol next to individual questions or section/sub-section headings.
* [Curated List] [peacekeeper/blockchain-identity](https://github.com/peacekeeper/blockchain-identity) 2021-11-23 Markus Sabadello 
*  [Book] [Self-Sovereign Identity : Decentralized digital identity and verifiable credentials](https://www.manning.com/books/self-sovereign-identity#toc) 2021-05 Manning
  > It combines a clear, jargon-free introduction to this blockchain-inspired paradigm shift with interesting essays written by its leading practitioners. Whether for property transfer, ebanking, frictionless travel, or personalized services, the SSI model for digital trust will reshape our collective future.
* [Blog] [Identity Blog](https://identityblog.com) 2020-08-24 Kim Cameron
  > Many readers will already know that I retired from Microsoft after twenty years working as Chief Architect of Identity and other related roles. I had a great time there, and Microsoft adopted the Laws of Identity in 2005 at a time when most tech companies were still under dark influence of “Privacy is Dead”, building systems destined to crash at endless cost into a privacy-enabled future. Microsoft is a big complicated place, but Bill Gates and Satya Nadella were as passionate as me about moving Microsoft and the industry towards digital identity respectful of the rights of individuals and able to empower both individuals and organizations. I thank them and all my wonderful colleagues and friends for a really great ride. 
* [Wiki] [wiki.idcommons.net](http://wiki.idcommons.net/Main_Page) 2014-08-17 IIW IDCommons
  > We are a community of groups working on addressing the social, legal and technical issues that arise with the emerging, identity, data and social layer of the internet.