There is no such thing as decentralized governance.
- Lawrence Lundy-Bryan

Authenticity™ Brings Measurable Reliability To Decentralized Identity

Certification authorities, when built and managed properly, can bring security and trust to online spaces. The City of Osmio brings duly constituted public authority to the CA role.

But Osmio is different from other CAs:

  • Just as you own the city where you live, you own the city of Osmio

    If centralized authority makes you nervous, know that we share your concern. That's why the governance of Osmio and its CA function is open for participation by you. If you have a valid Foundational Certificate from Osmio's Vital Records Department, then you own Osmio!

    If the idea of centralized authority makes
    you nervous, know that we share your concern.
    More...

  • Osmio is built upon the Authenticity Infrastructure

    An important principle of Authenticity™ – that is, PKI done right – is reflected in the fact that Osmio deals only in personal identity certificates and direct derivations, not "site certificates" or "code signing certificates,” etc. Websites, the code in IoT devices, and other resources should be signed by a professionally licensed person – in this case a signing officer of the owning organization. This the Internet of people, made safe via accountability.

    Accountability does not mean loss of privacy. Your Osmio-issued Utility Certificate works like your car's license plate: anyone can see it, making you accountable for what happens on public "roadways" like the Internet. But unless a relying party produces a court order calling for disclosure, no one gets to know your identity. Osmio’s Vital Records Department lets you assert your identity without disclosing your identity.

  • Osmio delivers ACCOUNTABLE ANONYMITY

    Accountability does not mean loss of privacy. Your Osmio-issued Utility Certificate works like your car's license plate: anyone can see it, making you accountable for what happens on public "roadways" like the Internet. But unless a relying party produces a court order calling for disclosure, no one gets to know your identity. Osmio’s Vital Records Department lets you assert your identity without disclosing your identity.

  • Osmio certificates carry a measure of their own reliability

    Governments have struggled for years to come up with a scheme that tells a relying party whether an identity claim’s reliability is “low,” “substantial,” or “high” (see NIST 800-63-3 and EU eIDAS Reg. 910/2014). Osmio’s identity certificates carry with them an Identity Quality Assurance (IDQA™) score consisting of eight component scores, each rated on a scale of 0-9, for an aggregate IDQA score of 0-72. The component scores and the aggregate score are reported as part of an extended OCSP response.

Watch

Does Centralized Authority Make You Nervous?

Here's how the City of Osmio does it right.

4 minutes

Osmio's role in Authenticity

A coalition of time-tested ideas brought together to rescue our information infrastructure.

2 minutes

Duly Constituted Public Authority

It's critical to our trust in identities. Here's what it means and how it happens.

14½ minutes

PKI: The heartbeat of Authenticity

PKI assures the rock-solid link between digital identities and real people.

4¾ minutes

Back to the future

An ancient and respected concept retooled for the digital age.

5½ minutes