Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted four potential pitfalls of Worldcoin’s iris-scanning authentication solution, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who launched the WLD token yesterday.
Buterin points to privacy, access, centralization, and security. It is the main risk associated with the creation of Worldcoin’s Proof-of-Personhood (PoP) and proposed alternatives to mitigate the impact in a blog post asdayMonday
PoP is a system designed to verify a user’s identity in a decentralized way without relying on intermediaries or disclosing personal information. Use cases include avoiding Sybil attacks by preventing the creation of multiple accounts for event tickets, airdrop submissions, and DAO voting.
Worldcoin users must install the app and scan their irises with a device called an “Orb.” The Orb verifies the user’s humanity and the uniqueness of the iris. This process results in a unique “World ID” for each user. which can be used to prove their identity without revealing their specific identity It ensures privacy and security.
Worldcoin risks
Because the Worldcoin project involves iris scanning. This raises serious privacy concerns. According to Buterin, though, only the iris scan is currently stored in a hashed version. not real picture and protecting user identities with ZK-SNARK and other cryptographic techniques, but there is an inherent risk of identity-related information being misused or leaked. If someone scans your iris They can then check against the database to determine if you have a World ID, and it is possible that an iris scan might reveal more information,” he added.
Buterin also has concerns about “accessibility,” with users needing access to the Worldcoin Orb to participate. which limits the access of the project Unless enough orbs are generated so that everyone can easily access them. This could lead to an asymmetry of Worldcoin’s decentralization, favoring the city center.before Worldcoin has focused on phone number verification as an alternative to the Orb device.
The third risk is This is a “centralization” where the integrity of the Worldcoin Orb hardware device cannot be verified. Buterin said that even if the software layer is decentralized, Worldcoin could infiltrate a backdoor and create a human fake identity. and added that Worldcoin’s proprietary governance and algorithms are additional concerns about centralization, although theystriveto decentralize over time
And “security of the Worldcoin system” is also a risk for Buterin. Phone hacking, forced iris scans from others, selling or renting IDs and “fake people” printed with 3D printers used to trick Worldcoin scans are examples of such risks, according to Buterin, although these issues are not specific to Worldcoin’s solution.
The solution offered by Buterin
Buterin said now “There is no ideal form of authentication yet” to address these risks. But he recommends combining three current approaches: social-graph-based biometric techniques, general hardware biometric techniques, and specialized hardware biometric techniques. The solution can provide a decentralized, scalable, and privacy-conscious system. which is safe from fake identities
refer : theblock
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