We are committed to a solutions-driven, abundance-based but not quite naively techno-utopian editorial voice here at OODA Loop.  With that: the promise of USG Innovation is driven by research and development sometimes buried deep down  in science and tech directorates in various governmental departments. Here are a few promising startup contract awards from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) in line with our Digital Self-Sovereignty Research Initiative (Self-Sovereign Identity, Digital Citizenship, Personal Data Ownership and Portability). 

Homeland Security Awards Contracts to Six Startups to Identify, Develop, and Implement Privacy-Enhancing Digital Wallets Technologies

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced that Credence ID, Hushmesh, Netis d.o.o., Procivis, SpruceID, and Ubiqu have each won a government contract to develop technologies that protect the privacy of individuals using digital versions of credentials issued for immigration and travel. These digital credential users, including immigrants and travelers, could eventually store their information in privacy-enhanced digital wallets. Since DHS interacts more frequently on a daily basis with the American public than any other federal agency or department, maintaining secure, confidential digital interactions will have a tremendous impact on the privacy, security, and safety of residents across the country.

“DHS is the authoritative source of some of the most highly valued credentials issued by the U.S. Federal Government for cross-border travel, demonstrating employment eligibility, residency status and citizenship,” said Anil John, Technical Director of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP). “The capabilities developed under this solicitation will ensure that those credentials can be stored securely and verified properly while preserving the privacy of individuals using openly developed standards that are globally acceptable, highly secure, and accessible to all.”

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the United States’ authoritative issuer of highly valued credentials related to citizenship and immigration. Supporting standards-based digital credentials and secure digital wallets for storing them enables us to meet our customer expectations of ease, convenience, privacy, and security in an increasingly digital world,” said Jared X. Goodwin, Acting Chief Program Management and Data Division, Service Center Operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

DHS provided the awards through its Privacy Preserving Digital Credential Wallets & Verifiers solicitation, which reflects the Department’s continued commitment to improving the delivery of its services in a way that both protects privacy and increases ease of use. The requirements included ensuring that DHS digital credential wallets and verifiers incorporated open, global standards that are not proprietary. These standards were established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a global standards development organization that manages the development of open standards ensuring interoperability, accessibility, internationalization, privacy, and security. DHS participates as a W3C member to ensure DHS-relevant security and privacy criteria are incorporated into the standards development process.

Privacy-Preserving Digital Credential Wallets & Verifiers – Contract Awards

S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program issued the solicitation in partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the DHS Privacy Office. It builds on the success and global adoption of the open, standards-based digital credentialing solutions developed under its previous Preventing Forgery & Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses topic call, which aimed to address paper-based credentialing susceptible to loss, destruction, and counterfeiting.  Selected through a highly competitive process, each awardee is eligible for up to $1.7 million across four SVIP phases. The awardees of this first phase presented innovative solutions that have the potential to provide immediate impact to DHS:  DHS S&T awarded

• $199,140 to Credence ID, an Oakland, California-based U.S. company, which specializes in standards-based identity verification and authentication solutions for in-person and online use. The company plans to adapt their existing hardware and software credential verifier implementations to support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards, requiring a simple software update to existing hardware readers.
• $199,430 to Hushmesh, a Falls Church, Virginia-based U.S. company, to adapt their technology, the Mesh, incorporating built-in cryptographic security and universal zero trust. This adaptation aims to implement distributed, scalable, and privacy-preserving key management for digital wallets and verifiers supporting W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards. Their solution will provide assurance of provenance, authenticity, confidentiality, and privacy for all data.
• $198,849 to Netis d.o.o., a Ljubljana, Slovenia-based company, to enhance its existing MIDVA platform to support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards. MIDVA includes a Fleet Management Platform for organizational onboarding, alongside a Mobile Verifier App. It utilizes technology such as Policy-as-a-Code foundation and integrates seamlessly with trust frameworks. The Fleet Management Platform facilitates easy onboarding, authorization, and management of verifier apps across various environments, enabling configuration of supported credentials and integration of recognized trust frameworks. This enables authorized personnel to verify users’ credentials using the Verifier App.
• $187,285 to Procivis, a Zurich, Switzerland-based company, to enhance its existing Procivis One platform to better support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards in digital wallets and verifiers. The platform provides flexible, privacy-respecting technology capable of accommodating various credentials, including E-IDs, mobile driver’s licenses, certificates, diplomas, and licenses.
• $199,960 to SpruceID, a New York, New York-based U.S. company, to enhance its digital wallet and verifier capabilities to better support W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards for enterprise and public sector environments. Their software creates verifiable digital credentials prioritizing user privacy and security, ensuring safe usage across various digital wallets and interoperability across sectors like finance, healthcare, anti-fraud, and cross-border applications.
• $197,961 to Ubiqu, a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based company, to integrate its Remote Secure Element (RSE) technology with digital wallets supporting W3C VCDM and W3C DID standards. This allows users to maintain sole control over their credentials, ensuring transparency and consent while providing comprehensive recovery solutions. This approach facilitates a highly secure and convenient user experience for digital credential services.

Additional OODA Loop Resources

For our News Briefs and Original Analysis research efforts to date on this topic, go to OODA Loop | Digital Self-Sovereignty

Related topics include:    OODA Loop | Blockchain    OODA Loop | Trust      OODA Loop | Zero Trust    OODA Loop | Trustworthy AI

Digital Self-Sovereignty: Securing and Developing a National Strategy for Web3: Last year, OODA CTO Bob Gourley spoke with MITRE Futurist Charles Clancy on our Quantum Enabled Future. During that conversation, Clancy also shared some MITRE research efforts on Web3 and the Future of the Internet, which dovetailed into our Digital Self-sovereignty thematic research efforts.  Following is another valuable contribution from the MITRE reseach team germaine to the theme.

The Future of the Internet, Trust and Web3: Data and Digital Sovereignty Versus Digital Self-Sovereignty: Charles Clancy, Chief Futurist at MITRE, and his co-authors of a recent report –  “Democratizing Technology: Web3 and the Future of the Internet” – provide the best framing of a “robust and decentralized, democratized alternative to the existing technology stack” and “the establishment and advancement of alternative technological paradigms to protect the public interest by making authoritarian misuse difficult or impossible.”

Blockchain-enabled Digital Self-Sovereignty – Patients will be Able to Sell Healthcare Data via Blockchain-based Exchange:  We recently took a look at a plan to build a SaaS-based marketplace where patient information is structured for sale to researchers by way of a blockchain exchange.  Our reporting and analysis are based on an initial report by Lucas Mearian over at Computerworld, as well as direct announcements and project details from the companies that have partnered on the project. 

Maintaining Societal Trust During Technological Disruption: How do we maintain societal trust as individuals migrate from platform to platform, identities get impersonated, and technologies like ChatGPT and Midjourney produce conversations and images indistinguishable from the truth through malicious prompts or hallucinations?  This topic was examined at length OODAcon 2023, exploring the trust threats and emerging trust wars and looking to identify solutions that help alleviate these risks.  The following captures insights from a discussion between Heather McMahon, UMD Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security and SJ Terp, Cognitive Security Expert.  For the program description for this session, see OODAcon 2023 – Zero Trust Societies and Disruptive Technologies.

Building Trust Into Blockchain:  What is the future of blockchain innovation? And how might blockchain technologies enable new models for business and governance?  The topic of building trust back into the blockchain was examined at length at OODAcon 2023.  The following captures insights from a discussion between Angela Dalton, CEO and Founder, Signum Growth; David Ackerman, CCO MobileCoin; and Mohsan Farid, Co-Founder, LedgerOps. For the program description for this session, see Building Trust Back into Blockchain.

Blockchain Security: National Security, Cybersecurity, and Health Security:  The OODA Loop Blockchain Series includes case studies of blockchain security initiatives and cybersecurity incidents.  We tracked down the best-in-class research efforts and subject matter experts to explore how they are “framing and naming” the formative issues around blockchain security, including the national security, cybersecurity, and health security promise and peril.

Innovative Blockchain Technology Case Studies (by Industry Sector):  Over the course of 2022 and 2023, The OODA Loop Blockchain Series has explored blockchain disruption in the market and new opportunities created by blockchain technologies in both the public and private sectors.  Innovative blockchain technology efforts (by industry sector)  – with a focus on how the blockchain enables new business models, opportunities for innovative value proposition design, and decentralized governance – are listed here.  Industry sectors include: The Financial Sector and Monetary System; The Technology Sector (Semiconductor Subsector); The Automotive Sector and the Future of Mobility; and The Bioeconomy, Biotechnology, and Healthcare.

On Trust and Zero Trust: New Paradigms of Trust, Designing Trust into Systems, and Trustworthy AI:  The future of trust is a broad research theme at OODA Loop, overlapping with topics like the future of money (ie. the creation of new value exchange mechanisms, value creation and value storage systems – and the role trust will play in the design of these new monetary systems). Likewise, notions of trust (or lack thereof) will impact the future of Generative AI, AI governance (i.e. Trustworthy AI) and the future of autonomous systems and exponential technologies generally.  This post is a compilation of OODA Loop Original Analysis and OODAcast conversations concerned with trust, zero trust and trustworthy AI.

Embracing Corporate Intelligence and Scenario Planning in an Uncertain Age: Businesses also confront unpredictable external threats besides traditional competitive challenges. This environment amplifies the significance of Scenario Planning. It enables leaders to envision varied futures, thereby identifying potential risks and opportunities. Regardless of size, all organizations should allocate time to refine their understanding of the current risk landscape and adapt their strategies. See: Scenario Planning

Bitcoin’s Momentum: Bitcoin seems unstoppable due to solid mathematical foundations and widespread societal acceptance. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum also gain prominence. The Metaverse’s rise is closely tied to Ethereum’s universal trust layer. See: Guide to Crypto Revolution

Geopolitical-Cyber Risk Nexus: The interconnectivity brought by the Internet has made regional issues affect global cyberspace. Now, every significant event has cyber implications, making it imperative for leaders to recognize and act upon the symbiosis between geopolitical and cyber risks. See The Cyber Threat

Track Technology Driven Disruption: Businesses should examine technological drivers and future customer demands. A multi-disciplinary knowledge of tech domains is essential for effective foresight. See: Disruptive and Exponential Technologies.

Networked Extremism: The digital era enables extremists worldwide to collaborate, share strategies, and self-radicalize. Meanwhile, advanced technologies empower criminals, making corruption and crime interwoven challenges for global societies. See: Converging Insurgency, Crime and Corruption