Japanese Multinational Holding SoftBank Announces Blockchain ID Working Group

Japanese multinational holding conglomerate SoftBank Corp. and American telecoms-focused blockchain firm TBCASoft are to lead a new blockchain-based digital identification study group under the canopy of the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG). The development was announced in a SoftBank press release on Feb. 26.
As previously reported, CBSG — a global blockchain consortium of telecom carriers — was founded in September 2017, in a bid to push greater adoption of the technology in the industry. Alongside Softbank and TBCASoft, the organization counts Taiwan-based telecoms carrier Far EasTone and U.S.-based telecoms firm Sprint as founding members.
Today’s announcement reveals that the new working group, devoted to blockchain-based identification and authentication solutions, will initially focus on a new foundation application framework called CrossCarrier Identification System (CCIS), developed by TBCASoft.
As the press release outlines, legacy identification systems demand that users trust a central authority with the safeguarding and circulation of their personal data, such as passwords and usernames. Rather than vesting trust in a centralized entity, CCIS uses blockchain technology and zero-knowledge proof cryptography to both disintermediate the verification process and better protect users against identity theft and other fraudulent activities.