The UN ‘Blockchain Identity Initiative’, known as the ID2020 Alliance, now has two new members –Microsoft and Hyperledger. A number of key global businesses have taken an interest in the project in recent months, with Accenture and The Rockefeller Foundation are other notable investors.

The ID2020 aims to increase online security through the provision of globally-relevant digital identities for people across the world, returning control and ownership of identity and personal data to the individual. This digital identity will be something akin to a social security number, but for cyberspace.

The project makes use of blockchain technology to help secure people's identities. Identity management and security is a huge issue in cyberspace. Many people struggle to prove their identities online. This can be an obstacle for access to key services, such as online banking. Lack of identity security also makes it easier for human traffickers to move people across the world. The ID2020 aims to tackle these issues.

Based on a private version of Ethereum’s blockchain technology, the ID2020 could prove a key tool in the fight against identity theft, fraud, and the management of personal data online. It will include the use of legal identification, allowing easy authentication and will have a broad application: helping refugees, allowing access to online banking, and proving identity when using government services.