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We at Validated ID have been betting on EBSI since the beginning. We started working to become conformant wallet providers since the very first version of Wallet Conformance Tests (WCT) was published. The process of preparing our solution to become conformant has allowed us to appreciate how remarkable EBSI's work has been. In this article, we provide in sights into what these tests consist of, and we share with you our experience performing these tests as wallet providers.
In essence, WCT are designed to demonstrate that the wallet provider can onboard users safely, receive verifiable credentials from a trusted issuer, and present verifiable credentials to a verifier. All of these, using of course EBSI infrastructure. Each scenario is clearly separated in the tests, and the wallet provider shows this by including an identifier (header) in requests sent to the EBSI APIs. Therefore, EBSI support office is later able to analyze if the flow performed by the wallet is correct. Let's take a closer look at what we had to demonstrate.
Onboarding users is the first scenario. Users’ identifiers created within a wallet need to be correctly registered in the DID registry. DIDs are stored in this registry, along with their associated public keys in the blockchain. In simple terms, registering your identifier is the first step to interacting with other members of the network. It requires several steps to verify that there is a person behind the process and several cryptography challenges that follow protocols that ensure the keys are controlled by the person they are associated with. Although this might seem a bit intimidating, rest assured that the wallet handles everything behind the scenes. In our case, VIDwallet users only need to scan a QR code. This is enough to notify EBSI to register the DID created in VIDwallet.
For the second scenario, EBSI has developed an“mock issuer” service by means of an API, i.e., Conformance API, that allows requesting this mock issuer to issue a credential to the wallet. A wallet requests a credential from the issuer, and this service sends the credential to the wallet.
In the third scenario, the Conformance API is used to demonstrate that the wallet can create a valid verifiable presentation.In other words, the API acts as a “mock verifier” so the wallet provides a presentation that the API will verify. Once the presentation is shared with the“mock verifier”, the result of the validation is consequently responded.
Whenever new technologies and ecosystems are introduced, there will be many challenging and unpredictable changes that must be addressed. We are dealing with Self Sovereign Identity (SSI), a promising technology but still in its infancy, and, because we started with the very first version of WCT, we had to adapt to several changes along the way. However, to achieve a goal you've never reached, you'll have to take steps you've never taken. Then again, let's face it, it has not been easy since we're dealing with new technology and a variety of stakeholders must agree on how to handle a process. A number of challenges were overcome, but as a result, we have a proper WCT suite that can be used by everyone.
EBSI's extraordinary work and the agile way they worked with all wallet providers allowed us to provide feedback and learn during the process. The outcome is irrefutable, a refined WCT suite is now precisely defined, and any wallet provider can submit their integration much faster. As of the time of writing this article, five wallet providers have already been able to present at least a conformant scenario.
We are proud to say that we were the first to pass the conformance test and with more use cases covered.
Here you have a table summarizing the results retrieved from the officials reports
EBSI offers a clear guide on how to consume their services to become conformant. EBSI is now completely equipped to evaluate new incomers. Therefore, we encourage other wallet providers around to become conformant and start collaborating in cross border and provider scenarios.Users must be free to choose any conformant wallet and interoperate with issuers and verifiers freely and securely. In our view, this is where SSI real value relies on. Let’s get the ball rolling!
