The information required for digital credentials and transactions is already largely in digital format within various organisations’ systems. To issue and receive this information as digital credentials, software is needed that manages tasks such as identifiers linked to credentials and their key management, creation and verification of digital signatures, and communication with users’ wallet applications.
A credential agent is software that facilitates the issuance and reception of digital credentials between users’ digital wallets and organisational systems.
Organisational credential agents and users’ digital wallets communicate with each other, enabling the secure transfer and verification of credentials.
The credential agent manages tasks such as identifiers linked to credentials and their key management, creation and verification of digital signatures, and communication with users’ digital wallet.
The credential agent packages and signs the specified content into a digital credential and delivers it to the user’s wallet. The credential can be assigned an expiration date.
Additionally, the credential agent can make an entry in the revocation registry if, for instance, a granted permit or other credential needs to be revoked.
The credential agent requests from the user the desired credential or, if necessary, the desired information from various credentials. The credential agent receives the information, verifies its accuracy and integrity based on the credential’s signature. The credential agent can also verify from the trust registry that the signature is made by a trusted entity, and from the revocation registry that the information in the credential can still be trusted.
