Verifier Standards Reference

The Vidos verifier service provides comprehensive support for verifying credentials and presentations across multiple standards organizations and specifications. This reference document catalogs the supported standards, their key features, and associated verification policies.

Each standard entry includes:

• Policies: Links to applicable verification policies
• Reference: Official specification link
• Summary: Brief description of the standard’s purpose and benefits
• Details: Technical specifications and implementation notes where applicable

The verifier implements the following industry standards:

IETF Standards

JWT (RFC 7519)

Policies: format, notBefore, notAfter, proof, schema, status

Reference: IETF RFC 7519 - JSON Web Token (JWT)

Summary: A compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties, commonly used for secure data exchange and authentication.

SD-JWT VC

Policies: format, notBefore, notAfter, proof

Reference: IETF Selective Disclosure for JWTs (SD-JWT)

Summary: An extension to the JWT format that enables selective disclosure of credential claims, allowing holders to reveal only specific information while keeping other data private.

The SD-JWT VC format consists of three main components separated by tildes (~):

1. A signed JWT containing issuer claims and disclosure digests
2. A set of disclosures (selective disclosure claims)
3. Optional binding information for holder binding

ISO Standards

ISO 18013-5:2021 Mobile Driving License (mDL)

Policies: format, notBefore, notAfter, proof, status

Reference: ISO 18013-5:2021

Summary: An international standard for digital driver’s licenses that can be stored on mobile devices, providing secure, privacy-preserving verification of driving privileges.

This standard defines:

• Data elements and formats for mobile driving licenses
• Security mechanisms
• Machine-readable formats
• Verification processes

W3C Standards

Summary: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards provide interoperable frameworks for verifiable credentials with strong security, privacy, and integrity properties.

Bitstring Status List

Policies: status

Reference: W3C Bitstring Status List v1.0

Summary: A space-efficient mechanism for publishing and verifying the revocation status of credentials using compact binary data structures, enhancing privacy and performance.

Data Integrity BBS Cryptosuites

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C Data Integrity BBS Cryptosuites v1.0

Summary: A cryptographic suite that enables zero-knowledge proofs for verifiable credentials, allowing selective disclosure and unlinkable credential presentations.

Data Integrity ECDSA Cryptosuites

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C Data Integrity ECDSA Cryptosuites v1.0

Summary: A cryptographic suite that implements ECDSA digital signatures for verifiable credentials, providing secure proof verification with widespread industry support.

This specification defines data integrity mechanisms for verifiable credentials using the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) with NIST-compliant curves, particularly:

• P-256 (secp256r1) curve for balanced security and performance
• P-384 (secp384r1) curve for higher security applications
• Support for both SHA-256 and SHA-384 hash algorithms
• Compatibility with existing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
• Widely implemented in hardware security modules and smart cards

Data Integrity EdDSA Cryptosuites

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C Data Integrity EdDSA Cryptosuites v2022

Summary: A cryptographic suite implementing the Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm, providing high-security signatures with fast verification and small key sizes.

This specification defines data integrity mechanisms using the Edwards-Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA) with Curve25519 (ed25519), offering several key benefits:

• Faster signature verification compared to ECDSA
• Smaller signature size (64 bytes) for efficient transmission
• Resilience against certain side-channel attacks
• Deterministic signatures that don’t require random number generation
• Widely adopted in modern cryptographic libraries and applications
• Designed for high-performance in software implementations

EdDSA Cryptosuite v2020

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C EdDSA Cryptosuite v2020

Summary: A Community Group specification defining a cryptographic suite for creating and verifying Linked Data Proofs using the Edwards-Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA) with Curve25519.

This cryptosuite includes:

• URDNA2015 canonicalization algorithm
• SHA-256 message digest algorithm
• Support for Ed25519VerificationKey2020 verification method type
• Support for Ed25519Signature2020 proof type
• Multibase and multicodec encoded public key representation
• Compatibility with FIPS 186-5 draft requirements
• Methods for representing keys and signatures in JSON-LD documents

JOSE-COSE

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C JOSE-COSE

Summary: A framework for securing verifiable credentials using JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) and CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE) mechanisms.

JSON-LD 1.1

Policies: format, proof

Reference: W3C JSON-LD 1.1

Summary: A JSON-based linked data format that provides a way to express graph-based data in a way that’s compatible with standard JSON processors.

Status List 2021

Policies: status

Reference: W3C Status List 2021

Summary: A credential status verification method that maintains privacy while allowing efficient checking of credential validity.

Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0

Policies: proof

Reference: W3C Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0

Summary: A specification that defines how to ensure cryptographic integrity of credentials through digital signatures and mathematical proofs.

Verifiable Credentials JSON Schema

Policies: schema

Reference: W3C Verifiable Credentials JSON Schema Specification

Summary: A standard for using JSON Schema to define and validate the structure of verifiable credentials, enhancing interoperability and data quality.

• Creation of Credential Schemas as verifiable, reusable data models
• Structured validation of credential claims
• Enhanced interoperability through standardized data schemas
• Support for JsonSchema

Verifiable Credentials Data Model v1.1

Policies: format, notBefore, notAfter, proof

Reference: W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model v.1.1

Summary: The core data model that defines how credentials can be made cryptographically verifiable, machine-readable, and privacy-respecting.

Supports the full specification of verifiable credentials and presentations, including:

• Credential metadata (@context, id, type)
• JSON-LD context
• Issuer information
• Subject claims
• Evidence and terms of use
• Credential status
• Schema validation
• Proof verification

Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0

Policies: format, notBefore, notAfter, proof

Reference: v2.0 specification

Summary: The updated core data model with improved proof mechanisms, enhanced privacy features, and broader compatibility with different cryptographic suites.

Supports the updated with enhanced features, including:

• Updated JSON-LD context structure
• Support for Data Integrity proofs
• Enhanced credential status methods
• Refined proof mechanisms