Identity & access management
Projects and collaborations
Ongoing projects
The SURF SSI Lab is an initiative aimed at fostering greater coherence and collaboration amongst initiatives within the education and research sector where SSI plays a role. The aim of the SSI Lab is to share knowledge and experience, both within SURF and with (knowledge) institutions and the National Growth Fund Npuls.
Integrating SSI into existing services
Other sectors, including the public sector and healthcare, are conducting increasing amounts of research into SSI. SURF could also integrate SSI into existing services, such as eduID, edubadges and SURF Research Access Management. SURF is therefore exploring how SSI can play a role in research and education.
Technical support
In addition, the SSI Lab also provides technical and infrastructural support for internal proof-of-concepts (PoCs) and pilots, as well as for the Npuls eduwallet project, which is investigating what a wallet containing a digital identity and credentials could mean for education. It stands to reason that support will also be provided later for pilots run by and in collaboration with institutions. Following this, SSI service development can take place, if desired.
SSI Lab building blocks
The SURF SSI Lab comprises an ever-increasing number of building blocks. Expertise on these building blocks is readily available, and (knowledge) institutions can also experiment with them using a (limited) technical implementation or infrastructure. These building blocks include wallets, digital identity, verifiable credentials, distributed ledger technology and associated trust frameworks.
Contact: Niels van Dijk, niels.vandijk@surf.nl
SURF is participating, alongside a number of other institutions, in the Digital Credentials for Europe (DC4EU) consortium. As part of this collaboration, education and research-related use cases involving wallets and SSI are being tested on a pan-European scale. Read more about SURF’s role in the DC4EU consortium.
Contact: Paul den Hertog, paul.denhertog@surf.nl
Completed projects
What requirements must a wallet for education and research meet? In this proof of concept, we developed a wallet app for use within the context of SSI. The aim was not to create a production-ready environment, but rather to carry out a technical exploration.
This experiment has enabled us to better answer the questions we have about SSI. Some of the wallet functions tested include:
- Sharing data with parties within and outside our sector;
- Gaining insight into study results;
- The ability to better identify users.
Contact: Marlies Rikken, marlies.rikken@surf.nl
In recent years, SURF has collaborated with the IRMA initiative and gained experience with the technology through various proofs of concept (PoCs) and pilot projects. Examples include the pilot project on accessing SURFspot via IRMA and the publication of personal data relating to education and research as IRMA attributes.
Read more:
Contact: Arnout Terpstra, arnout.terpstra@surf.nl
In this exploration, we examined the (technical) characteristics, standards and implementation of an SSI solution. We also assessed the maturity and usability of a blockchain-based solution by deploying and testing it alongside other components in the AAI ecosystem.
Read more about this exploratory study
Contact: Niels van Dijk, niels.vandijk@surf.nl
The findings of this exploratory study will help NRENs gain a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the EU Digital Identity Wallet concept and how this might affect their digital identity initiatives.
In June 2021, the European Commission announced the introduction of a framework for a European digital identity. This framework establishes a new qualified trust service for the issuance of attributes, such as those relating to educational qualifications. The EU Digital Identity Wallet makes it possible to offer, share and exchange these attributes across national borders. This is entirely secure, with data protection and legal recognition, and under the full control of the end user.
SURF, in collaboration with InnoValor, has submitted a research proposal to GÉANT. This research will help NRENs gain a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the EU Digital Identity Wallet concept and how it may impact their digital identity initiatives.
It addresses three research questions:
- What impact does the EU Digital Identity Wallet have on the roles of NRENs and identity providers?
- How can existing NREN initiatives be utilised to support the EU Digital Identity Wallets?
- Is there a coordinating or supporting role for GÉANT in this development?
Read the research proposal (pdf)
Contact: Michiel Schok, michiel.schok@surf.nl
What might eduID look like as a self-sovereign identity solution? And which standards can be used to implement eduID as an SSI system? This internship research project provides answers to these questions.
eduID is a digital student identity, independent of the educational institution. At present, eduID offers educational institutions a way to grant guests – such as lecturers and researchers from other institutions and external advisers – access to internal systems. However, this is only the beginning for eduID. One possible future for eduID lies in the concept of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), a new approach to digital identity that puts the user at the centre.
In the second half of 2021, Matti Eisenlohr explored what eduID might look like as a Self-Sovereign Identity solution. In doing so, he examined which standards could be used to implement eduID as an SSI system.
In addition to a detailed description and inspiring screen examples of eduID as an SSI, Matti concludes that SSI offers a very interesting future for digital identity and eduID. However, there is still a long way to go due to the lack of maturity in many areas. The open standards need to become more mature, and conventions need to be established regarding their implementation within the wider SSI community.
Contact: Peter Clijsters, peter.clijsters@surf.nl
Collaborations
This GÉANT task force focuses on knowledge exchange between NRENs in the field of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and SSI-related use cases. The overall objectives are to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience, and to engage other interested parties working on DLT infrastructures and services.
Read more about this GÉANT task force
Contact: Niels van Dijk, niels.vandijk@surf.nl
Regular consultations take place with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), DUO, MBO Digitaal and Kennisnet on topics such as digital identities, including the Digital Government Act (wDO), Digital Source Identity (DBI) and the EU Wallet.
Contact: Michiel Schok, michiel.schok@surf.nl
As part of the GÉANT project, SURF is participating in the Trust and Identity Incubator, which has investigated and tested various aspects of SSI, both from a technical and a business case perspective. This project ran until the end of 2022.
Read more about the GÉANT-project
Contact: Niels van Dijk, niels.vandijk@surf.nl
Through the (European) Digital Identity programme (EDI), the Dutch government is implementing the new eIDAS 2.0 Regulation, which focuses on the use of wallets and SSI technology. SURF is monitoring this development and taking part in workshops and consultation sessions organised by this project.
Contact: Niels van Dijk, niels.vandijk@surf.nl
The Higher Education Architecture Sector (HOSA) provides frameworks for the sector’s digital services of the future, looking three to ten years ahead. HOSA’s IAM domain architecture describes various SSI-related use cases within the sector. In line with the aim of strengthening public values within the sector, the SSI philosophy is regarded as important.
Contact: Menno Scheers, menno.scheers@surf.nl