# US 12,008,561 B2 · System for verification of pseudonymous credentials for digital identities with managed access to personal data on trust networks

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- Number: US 12,008,561 B2
- Document ID: US12008561B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/389,918
- Filed: 2019-04-19
- Published: 2019-10-31
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2018-04-20
- Assignees: Infonetworks LLC
- Applicants: Infonetworks LLC; Frank A Cona; Michael D Palage
- Inventors: Frank A Cona; Michael D Palage
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12008561B2

## CPC

- G06Q 20/383: {Anonymous user system}
- H04L 63/0853: {using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234)}
- G06F 21/31: User authentication
- G06F 21/6245: {Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes}
- G06F 21/6272: {by registering files or documents with a third party}
- G06Q 20/3821: {Electronic credentials}
- G06Q 20/389: {Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction}
- G06Q 20/40: Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
- G06Q 20/4014: {Identity check for transactions}
- H04L 9/0894: {Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage}
- H04L 9/3236: {using cryptographic hash functions}
- H04L 9/3239: {involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD}
- H04L 9/3297: {involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps}
- H04L 9/50: {using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees}
- H04L 63/0421: {Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer}
- H04L 63/0807: {using tickets, e.g. Kerberos (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213)}
- H04W 12/06: Authentication
- H04W 12/75: Temporary identity
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

The invention advantageously provides a system for the verification a user's identity and qualifications and authentication of credentials associated with a user's digital identity on a trust network (where service providers involved in a transaction may be independent parties operating with limited trust), in which a pseudonymized transaction record may be created for that digital identity and stored in a shared ledger; identifying information for a user may be retained in a custodial escrow account for that user; and transactions may be re-correlated with identifying information for authorized third parties under established “due process” rules that are appropriate for the applicable jurisdiction(s).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A digital identity apparatus, wherein the verification of at least one qualification of a user is used to generate a credential associated with a digital identity account maintained with an identity provider for authorizing the user to engage pseudonymously in a transaction online with a provider, and wherein a pseudonymous identifier associated with the credential is configured to enable identifying information about the user to be correlated to the transaction in relation to the automated processing of an access request by a third party using due process rules to determine providing at least a portion of the identifying information for the user to the third party, the digital identity apparatus comprising:
at least one digital identity memory configured to store digital identity data for the user associated with the digital identity account maintained by the identity provider and having associated authentication data used for the authentication of the digital identity to authenticate the user as an authenticated user to present a pseudonymous credential associated with the digital identity account to engage in the transaction online with the provider;
a storage device storing a data container having at least one credential associated with the digital identity account that is accessible by the authenticated user through the user interface of a computing device configured to enable the user to present the credential online pseudonymously to the provider, the credential comprising:
credential data based on the verification of the at least one qualification of the user configured for use in authorizing the user to engage in the transaction online with the provider; and
at least one pseudonymous identifier configured for use in verifying the qualification of the user for authorizing the user to engage in the transaction online with the provider and for being stored in a pseudonymized record of the transaction between the user and the provider; and
a custodial escrow memory associated with the digital identity account maintained by the identity provider configured to store identifying information for the user segregated from the pseudonymized transaction record; and
a due process rules engine comprising a processor and software configured to:
automatically process information in an access request inputted by a third party for identifying information about the user correlated to the pseudonymized transaction record using a set of due process rules to determine whether the third party is authorized to receive the identifying information stored in the custodial escrow memory for the user in relation to the transaction data stored in the pseudonyrnized transaction record;
correlate the identifying information for the user with a transaction in the pseudonymized transaction record using the pseudonymous identifier to create a combined record of the transaction; and
provide the combined record to the authorized third party based on the determination under the due process rules.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one credential is created based upon a verification of the at least one qualification of the user by a trusted source.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one credential incorporates an extensible digital identity token (EDIT) for use in one or more selected from the group consisting of verifying the qualification of the user for authorizing the individual to engage in the transaction online and creating the pseudonymized transaction record.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pseudonymous identifier is configured for use for discovering the digital identity account with the identity provider.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inputted information includes one or more selected from the group consisting of a country of citizenship associated with a user, a jurisdiction in which a user resides, a qualification of a user as a natural person, a qualification of a user as a legal person, the credential data for a user who is an authorized third party, data indicating the legitimate interest for requesting the identifying information for user, a jurisdiction of formation for the provider in the transaction with the user, a jurisdiction in which the provider in the transaction with the user resides, a jurisdiction of formation for the identity provider maintaining the digital identity account, a jurisdiction in which the identity provider maintaining the digital identity account resides, a jurisdiction of formation of the authorized third party accessing the identifying information of the user, a jurisdiction in which the authorized third party accessing the identifying information of the user resides, and a jurisdiction in which the data for custodial escrow containing the identifying information resides.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the custodial escrow may be segregated from the custodial accounts for other users and accessed on a single request/single account basis.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transaction is one or more selected from the group consisting of creation of a digital identity, the modification of a digital identity, the segregation of identifying information for a digital identity into the custodial escrow, a request for the identifying information from the custodial escrow based on the due process rules, the renewal of a digital identity, the compromising of a digital identity, the revocation of a digital identity, a request for record data for one or more domain names, the registration of one or more domain names to a registrant, the transfer of one or more domain names to a new registrant, the modification of record data for one or more domain names, and the verification of web content, web pages, web sites, or 10T devices.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pseudonymized transaction record is stored in a shared ledger on a trust network and wherein the pseudonymized transaction record is validated by a consensus protocol prior to being added to the shared ledger.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the shared ledger is configured for processing a micropayment based on the access to one or more transaction records.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, wherein transactions in the pseudonymized transaction record of one or more transactions are stored in the shared ledger in a serialized form, in which a new transaction is added based upon a cryptographic hash with prior transactions stored in the shared ledger.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the due process rules are determined by the processor using a smart contract.