As easy as riding a bike
I remember the day my father taught me how to ride a bike like it was yesterday. It was bright red, with beautiful accessories that made it unique in my neighborhood. I would ride it proudly and using it became easy, natural and comfortable. It was part of my identity. To this day, every time I ride a bike, I fondly relive those moments of self-sufficiency and independence.
I grew up in a time of great technological advances, which came to simplify our way of life. However, when we sign up for a digital service, we often do not experience the same simplicity and comfort we feel when riding a bike. Quite the contrary. Systems are often complex and difficult for people to manage, because each one is different, with its own requirements and policies. I do not remember the first time I created a username or a #Password.
Throughout my life, I must have registered in at least 500 computer systems, with countless types of users or identifiers, which have nothing to do with my #Identity. In many cases, I even have to relearn how to use them or discover tricks to remember the password.
Frictionless #cybersecurity
I am convinced that #WorldCybersecurityDay, which is celebrated this month to raise awareness about the importance of taking precautions against the dangers of the #DigitalWorld, is a good opportunity to reflect on the main challenges ahead of us.
I founded VU Inc. to create digital experiences as easy, safe and liberating as riding a bike. I was able to fulfill that dream. And today, as an innovative company, we are going for more. To stay ahead of the curve in a world where the evolution of #Technology does not stop.
Increasingly, personal identity acts as a currency in this digital world. Sometimes we realize this and protect it. However, on certain occasions, we forget and neglect its security, we share information and we create profiles with services we do not intend to keep for long. Nor can we be sure that our data will be deleted the moment we decide to unsubscribe.
Today all this digital data is being stored, but remembering how to access it is the user's problem. According to our vision of the future of cybersecurity, this needs to change: we must work to give citizens back what belongs to them, control over their identity, over their digital assets, over their #OnlinePerson.
For that reason, I am proud to have an advisor like Stephen Maloney , who is clear about the direction we need to take: "We can all imagine and help create this environment where the individual can choose when and how to share their data. As personally identifiable information is continually put at risk, we must find a way to create services that allow users to have peace of mind and control, while enabling companies to address their appropriate level of risk, creating a framework of mutual trust."
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VU Inc. & Microsoft Entra Verified ID
In this regard, selected by Microsoft for the creation of a portable verified credential that is trusted, consumer-friendly and reusable, #VU has become one of the first global leaders specializing in identity verification.
#Microsoft Entra Verified ID is a decentralized identity system based on open standards. It allows us to perform onboarding only once and then reuse it wherever we need it. Thus, it makes it possible for us to accept or reject attributes related to ourselves with a single digital identity.
It is a paradigm shift in terms of privacy, confidentiality and management of our online assets. It introduces a new model in the management of sensitive data because it allows people to authenticate their identity and information to third parties with full control over what we share and whom we share it with.
As Web 3.0 evolves and incorporates these and other ideas, such as a token-based economy, let us continue to innovate and encourage the creation of secure digital identities, which are fundamental to enabling a fairer, more efficient and more productive Internet.
A motivating challenge
I know there are more questions than answers today: how would you delete all the online information that exists about you right now? How would you make a meme with your face disappear? Yet we hope to leave the world a better place than the one we inherited.
This evolution of digital identity is neither trivial nor free of controversy, fraud or pitfalls. Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I have only found 10,000 ways that won't work." As an entrepreneur, these are the challenges that motivate me the most. The opportunity to create meaningful change in people's lives.
Our generation has quite a bit of work to do in this regard and we want to join forces with the broader technology community to make it happen. Let us make it as easy, liberating and rewarding as riding a bike.