MIT Solve

Basic Information

Solution Name

Operation Horcrux

Tagline:

Protect & control access to your data using a common physical token: a cell phone.

Pitch:

In Harry Potter, Voldemort stores his soul in various places called horcruxes which had to be destroyed to defeat him. To many teenagers, taking a cell phone away is like destroying a part of their soul. Therefore, an identity solution built around the cell phone will be most readily adopted by the next generation.

Operation Horcrux begins with a way to link a persons identity.

A few years ago during a presentation panel, I was asked what Google could do with a magic to solve a problem with their technology. I answered that we needed a unified identification platform stored digitally using your cell phone as your ID

Why do we have passports and drivers licenses? They are easily stolen & lost with no encryption.

However, virtually everyone carries a cell phone even in growing economies. Cell phones are easily encrypted and can be protected with a PIN. We also treat them very carefully and carry them virtually always.

We need a unique identifier but that unique identifier cannot be a authorization code in and of itself. The Social Security Number (SSN) in the US was an example of a widely accepted unique identifier that grew in use but because it was an "authorization code", simply knowing someone's SSN became a security concern.

A unique identifier also tied to a physical item such as a cell phone IMEI is the first step in any system tying any data to your ID. For this, the IMEI on a phone would be tied to a unique ID which together would let you attach your identity to your phone and access/control your data.

Your cell phone would become your primary physical token using application-based push technology.

A transfer of your ID from one phone to another could be done by having the old phone and registering your new one with approval from the previous one. Or in the event it is lost, the same verification process used today to reissue a lost/stolen ID would be done.

Once you have an ID code tied to a physical device, you can tie it to records. And these records could be used to log access using a blockchain ledger as distributed, irrevocable method of tracking.

From there, the TDF format (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Data_Format) could be used to encrypt any data attached to your ID with keys that are revocable on an individual basis.

This would allow for things like electronic medical records to be shared with a doctor, tracked completed and revoked instantly.

Solution location:

Fairfax, VA, USA

Solution's stage of development:

Prototype

About Your Solution

What makes the solution innovative:

Our innovation is combining cybersecurity expertise with an item we carry already with open source, cloud and web solutions.

How the solution demonstrates 'privacy by design':

We are cyber and cloud experts that fully understand cybersecurity risks involved in both information and operational technology.

We understand the need for security and will use of nation state grade
encryption designed for post-9/11 US interagency communications

We understand the need to share data such as medical data to save lives

We understand the right to individual privacy, the need to protect it and to prevent abuse

We have done incident response for things such as the OPM breach and understand that preventing the issue is the best defense.

Our founder has championed open source software for over 2 decades.

How the solution can be incorporated into digital identification systems:

The system is inherently designed to be a digital identification system using a cell phone which is ubiquitous and accessible even in developing countries.

How the solution is 'user-friendly':

By using a device that is carried already, the cell phone, the system builds on something we already for convenience. By removing the need for other ID and giving people simple, trustable, controllable encryption and easily revoked access to data, the system can centralize numerous records to make things easier for people. We also understand all the users in such a system from the administrator to the record owner to providers that need access to records.

How the solution ensures interoperability:

By using open standards like TDF, API calls, and standard protocols like HTTPS, we envision a full product designed and implemented under an Open Source model. As experts at the Apache Software Foundation we would use the Apache Way to build a community around the solution with vendor-neutrality to further ensure interoperability.

How the solution accounts for low connectivity environments and for users with low literacy and numeracy levels:

By using caching, push capabilities and offline queueing, low connectivity is a primary concern. We have also been working to help 3rd world countries on financial literacy and using tools like Apache Fineract to power SACCOs and Credit Unions in developing countries. We would look to work with organizations like Amplio/Literacy Bridge to assist with low literacy/numeracy concerns.

Vision over the next three to five years to implement or grow the solution to affect the lives of more people:

The key to any solution is traction and we see winning this challenge as a key step gain credibility. Additionally, we would work to have the ID system implemented in open source tools like Apache Fineract to prove it's functionality and usability.

We are also working with Quicken to improve financial literacy for teens and the elderly as well as designing open source summits in Africa in the same time frame.

The McGrail Foundation's mission is to provide services, education and advocacy for private, secure and unimpeded business and communications.

Country where the solution primarily operates:

United States

About Your Team

Partnership Potential