Digital identity technologies applied to secure authentication in decentralized ecosystems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64439/cisai.v2i2.47Keywords:
blockchain, self-sovereign identity, decentralized identifiers, secure authentication, verifiable credentialsAbstract
Ensuring secure user authentication in decentralized ecosystems constitutes one of the most complex challenges of digital identity, given that current technologies do not offer sufficient guarantees of privacy or individual sovereignty. With the aim of addressing this gap, this work carries out a systematic literature review guided by four research questions framed around digital identity technologies, methodological approaches, application domains, and regulatory frameworks. A total of 835 scientific publications from the 2022-2026 period were analyzed, of which 23 formed the final corpus. The analysis reveals that blockchain technology constitutes the predominant technological substrate in 91% of the identified solutions, while the self-sovereign identity paradigm represents the dominant architectural approach in 52% of the studies. In particular, decentralized identifiers, verifiable credentials, and zero-knowledge proofs are consolidated as the canonical architecture for private authentication. Likewise, the domains linked to the internet of things, digital health, and financial services show the highest density of documented implementations. However, the challenges left by this analysis are concentrated in data protection and digital identity regulation, in cryptographic preparedness against quantum computing threats, and in validation with users in real-world environments.
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