NIST Seeks Comments on Blockchain Standards

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a draft white paper that gives an overview of the standards, building block and system architectures supporting emerging blockchain-based identity management systems and selective disclosure mechanisms. 

“A Taxonomic Approach to Understanding Emerging Blockchain Identity Management Systems (IDMS)” addresses top-down versus bottom-up governance models for both identifier and credential management and considers some of the risks and security concerns that may arise. 

Typically, identity management entails the storing of user credentials by organizations and third parties, which could lead to concerns about security and privacy, NIST said. However, blockchain could be used to create new identity management approaches with built-in control and consent mechanisms. 

NIST said the terminology, concepts, properties and architectures included in the paper can help business owners, software developers and cybersecurity professionals better understand and communicate with each other.