Virtual Identity in Blockchain

Introduction

In the beginning, the Internet used to provide quite limited opportunities, yet today it has opened a door to a world almost alternative to daily life. All the services provided via the Internet from education to entertainment and from shopping to communication attract and bring users to these environments more by creating a social environment alternative to daily life. The expansion and variation of this social environment have paved the way for transferring some daily life problems into the virtual world in time. One of these most important problems could be said to include security issues. Security has always been an important concern for people since prehistoric times. As is known, according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one of individuals’ basic needs is the need to feel secure (Maslow, 1968). Therefore, individuals who meet their basic physical needs will be willing to feel secure in any environment they belong. The fact that this environment is either the face-to-face environment in daily life or an online environment on the Internet will not change the need for security. However, it should be remembered that the scope of the concept of security and the perception of security might change depending on the changes in the environments that individuals belong. Although individuals become aware of the importance of security in both environments, a case that is not considered important in face-to-face environments may turn into a security threat in an online environment. In this respect, the most important step to be taken is to raise the security awareness of Internet technology users at any age about this new environment and to develop their technological skills. Obviously, the fact that individuals cannot take the precautions in online environments that they take in their daily lives for their own security or that they fail to ensure their security in online environment leads to the use of the Internet for evil purposes.

Since the birth of the Internet, the concept of “security” has always been among frequently cited concepts. However, the unpredictable rapid increase in the number of Internet users because of the development of web technologies has resulted in a number of new security problems. Solving these problems and overcoming the potential security risks of online environments are among popular issues. Today, there are security procedures supported by user names and passwords in online environments. However, considering the variety of Internet opportunities, a security system including a username and a password could be regarded as a “traditional protection method”. Therefore, all kinds of secure and modern applications that can be used in face-to-face and digital environments have the potential of removing these security risks. With this process of removing such risks, the security perception based on username and password is expected to change, and the potential of using online environments will increase. In today’s increasingly virtualized world, the concept of secure and autonomous digital identity will be more prominent. Thanks to this, traditional technologies are thought to facilitate life, and the security problems caused by these technologies are expected to be solved.