Fujitsu declares success in trial of self-sovereign ID for students with university

Fujitsu and the Keio Research Institute at SFC have finished a month-long trial of a self-sovereign digital identity for students that allows a wide range of identity-related services outside of education.

A press release issued by Fujitsu outlines the intent of establishing a self-sovereign ID to address problems related to management of personal data, the fragmented storage of personal data across various sites that creates difficulties, and data incompatibilities with other organizations.

To resolve the complications, Fujitsu says it collaborated with the Keio Research Institute at SFC on a digital identity technology in September 2021, which resulted in an identity conversion gateway that enables multiple identity infrastructures to be interconnected without using a unified protocol.

The trial, which took place from March 17, 2022 to April 12, 2022, issued a digital student ID via Keio University’s Next-Generation Digital Identity Platform that was transformed by the identity conversion gateway to examine the applications of online services connected to an identity platform that uses Fujitsu’s digital identity exchange named ‘IDentitY eXchange.’

It started with the creation of a meeting room reservation site by the Keio Research Institute with an anonymous response questionnaire connected to Fujitsu’s digital identity exchange technology. The questionnaires allow the users to disclose only necessary personal information, just like a self-sovereign ID. Then digital student IDs issued by Keio University for the trial would be verified to disclose student ID information on the site by Fujitsu’s identity conversion gateway based on site requests and user selections. The identity conversion gateway then matches and connects to individually managed certificate storage applications, like digital wallets, or other identity platforms.

Fujitsu also develops vein recognition and other biometric systems which could be used to anchor digital identities.

The results of the trial showed that students were able to successfully authenticate themselves on the meeting room reservation site. Additionally, the digital certificate could be used as an anonymous questionnaire after user authentication, by selecting partial items and information on the questionnaire site using Fujitsu’s confidential disclosure certification technology.

The success of the trial indicated to Fujitsu and the Keio Research Institute at SFC that student information could be shared across different services. The two organizations say it can allow users to link personal information issued by companies, universities, and local governments with various services. It may also serve to offer student discount services or aid with job hunting and recruitment support after graduation, the press release suggests.

Fujitsu and the Keio Research Institute at SFC say that after the trial, the two started the ‘Trusted Internet Architecture Laboratory’ on April 1, 2022 as a joint research base for designing architectures and developing technologies for the secure use of internet services leveraging the new digital identity technology.

The Trusted Internet Architecture Laboratory will run from April 2022 to March 2025 and will research issues like the R&D of new technologies for a safer internet, the development of a reliable communication protocol and web architecture design, and the design of data governance architecture and technology development.

The total addressable market for SSI was estimated at $550 billion a year by a vendor in the space earlier this year.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  data sharing  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  Fujitsu  |  interoperability  |  pilot project  |  privacy  |  research and development  |  self-sovereign identity