September 2025
DIF Website | DIF Mailing Lists | Meeting Recording Archive
Table of contents
- Decentralized Identity Foundation News; 2. Working Group Updates; 3. Special Interest Group Updates; 4. User Group Updates; 5. Announcements; 6. Community Events; 7. Get involved! Join DIF
🚀 Decentralized Identity Foundation News
DIF Launches New Trusted AI Agents Working Group
DIF is launching the Trusted AI Agents Working Group, chaired by Nicola Gallo, Andor Kesselman, and Dmitri Zagidulin, to define an interoperable stack for trustworthy, privacy-preserving, and secure AI agents. As autonomous agents gain real-world responsibility in composing tools, making decisions, and exchanging verifiable data, this working group will build specifications, reference implementations, and governance patterns for enabling high-trust agent ecosystems using robust mechanisms for identity, authority, and governance.
The initial focus of the group will be exploratory and experimental, starting from use cases and a taxonomy of delegation mechanisms and patterns. The first formal work item will be a report evaluating use cases for agents (that make explicit dynamics of authorization), primarily focusing on the object capability school of distributed authorization. Future work may include standards for agentic identification mechanisms (applying DID and Verifiable Credential prior art), interoperability libraries for popular LLM frameworks, runtime trust enforcement workflows, and prototyping of human-to-agent delegation patterns. The working group welcomes in particular active participation from specification authors, security researchers, LLM infrastructure maintainers, and identity experts as it addresses the unique requirements of agentic workflows.
Stay tuned for meeting information!
DIF Labs Beta Cohort 2 Show & Tell
As we enter September, DIF Labs Beta Cohort 2 projects are in their final development phase, preparing for their showcase event later this month. The three selected projects have made significant progress on cutting-edge privacy-preserving technologies. Each project team has been receiving dedicated mentorship from DIF's expert community and is committed to delivering standards, protocols, implementations, or reports that will benefit the entire decentralized identity ecosystem.
👉 Register for DIF Labs Show & Tell, open to the public!
Join DIF Leadership: Executive Director & Steering Committee
This is your opportunity to shape the future of DIF! We have an upcoming Steering Committee election AND we're accepting applications for the next Executive Director term!
- Steering Committee: The Steering Committee plays a crucial role in defining DIF policies and strategy. We will have 6 seats open for election. Stay tuned for election details, including the call for nominations (all members), the nominee's "platform" statements, and the voting process (Associate Members, one ballot per organization). Don't miss your chance to participate in this important process that will guide DIF's future.
- Executive Director: As we move towards the end of the 2025 Executive Director term, and current ED Kim falls sway to the siren call of building, we have an exciting opportunity to set the direction of DIF! We are accepting applications now. See application details here, and send questions to jobs@identity.foundation.
Introducing "Scaling AI DIFferently": Misha Deville's New Blog Series on AI and Decentralized Identity
DIF Ambassador and Vidos Co-Founder Misha Deville has launched her blog series "Scaling AI DIFferently", exploring the critical intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized identity technologies.
Misha examines how decentralized identity infrastructure serves as the foundation for building trust and accountability in autonomous AI systems. As AI agents become increasingly sophisticated, she investigates the essential role that verifiable digital identities play in ensuring responsible AI deployment at scale.
In this thought-provoking series, Misha addresses fundamental questions about identity verification, trust frameworks, and accountability mechanisms in AI-driven environments—tackling challenges at the heart of next-generation digital infrastructure.
Discover Misha's insights on how decentralized identity standards can help shape a more trustworthy AI future. Start reading here.
🛠️ Working Group Updates
Browse our active working groups here
Hospitality & Travel Working Group
The Hospitality & Travel Working Group has emerged as one of DIF's most active groups, conducting extensive work on the HATPro specification for traveler preferences and identity management. The group is currently developing comprehensive schemas for food preferences, dietary restrictions, accessibility requirements, and pet-related travel information, and engaging subject matter experts across various travel sectors. Subscribe to the H&T Working Group blog for updates.
Creator Assertions Working Group
The Creator Assertions Working Group made significant strides in media industry identifier standards and identity assertion frameworks. Major developments include:
- Media Identifier Guidance: Developed comprehensive guidance for using metadata assertions with media industry identifiers, focusing on Dublin Core metadata fields and external authoritative data sources
- Identity Assertion Evolution: Continued refinement of identity assertion requirements to support manifest updates and improve data-model flexibility
The group's work on attribution assertions and metadata standards continues to advance the state of content authenticity and provenance tracking.
Applied Crypto Working Group
The BBS+ work item achieved significant milestones in privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols:
- Pseudonym Systems: Advanced work on cryptographic pseudonyms and blind signatures, with collaboration on general articles about cryptographic privacy techniques
- Performance Optimization: Completed performance testing and optimization work, with Rust implementations showing significant speed improvements over JavaScript
- Post-Quantum Research: Discussed post-quantum cryptography implications and integration with existing BBS+ protocols
- Test Vector Development: Continued development of comprehensive test vectors for the 0.9 draft release
The team's focus on practical implementation and standardization continues to drive adoption of privacy-preserving credential technologies.
DID Methods Working Group
The DID Methods Working Group focused on standardization processes and method evaluation refinement:
- W3C Charter Development: Continued work on the proposed W3C DID Methods Working Group charter, addressing concerns about scope and blockchain inclusion
- Method Evaluation Process: Refined the DIF recommendation process for DID methods, with DID:webvh currently in its 60-day comment period
- Method Champion Coordination: Established clearer processes for method champions and active development requirements
- Future Method Pipeline: Identified upcoming methods include did:webplus, did:cheqd and did:scid for evaluation
The group's DID method evaluation process ensures high-quality standards while maintaining transparency in the assessment process.
Identifiers and Discovery Working Group
The DIF Identifiers and Discovery Working Group advanced work on did:webvh (did:web + Verifiable History) and a new DID attested resources specification. Key progress includes deploying a sandbox server for did:webvh testing and proposing changes to DID resolution specifications to improve URL handling. The team discussed simplifying the webvh specification while preserving core functionalities and explored implementation details for blockchain DIDs generally, as well as key rotation patterns (and verification patterns for rotated keys) in verifiable credentials, with plans to continue collecting feedback through September 28th.
DIDComm Working Group
The DIDComm Working Group advanced protocol development and explored new application areas:
- Binary Encoding Support: Progressed work on CBOR implementation for more efficient message encoding
- AI Agent Communications: Explored applications of DIDComm for AI agent-to-agent communications and autonomous system interactions
- Protocol Comparisons: Conducted detailed analysis comparing DIDComm with other protocols like OpenID for VC in various use cases
- Supply Chain Applications: Discussed new protocols for supply chain data management and product-recall systems
Claims & Credentials Working Group
The Credential Schemas team made significant progress on standardization and community engagement:
- Community Schemas Initiative: Launched framework for organizations to contribute verifiable credential schemas to a shared repository
- Schema Standardization: Advanced work on aligning basic "person" schemata with schema.org standards while maintaining compatibility with existing frameworks
DIF Labs Working Group
DIF Labs Beta Cohort 2 projects entered their final development phase with impressive progress:
- QES Project: Advanced development of Qualified Verifiable Credentials combining legal enforceability with privacy preservation
- Revocation Analysis: Completed comprehensive analysis of privacy-preserving revocation mechanisms with practical implementation guidance
- Anonymous Multi-Sig: Progressed work on anonymous multi-signature verifiable credentials for group-authentication scenarios
All projects are preparing for their final showcase event in September, with open-source implementations ready for community adoption. Register for DIF Labs Show & Tell
🌎 Special Interest Group Updates
Browse our special interest groups here
DIF Africa SIG
The Africa SIG continued its focus on identity challenges and solutions in Africa and beyond. The recent meeting featured the "Has Needs" project, a resource sharing protocol designed for humanitarian spaces, building on work since the Haiti earthquake of 2010.
The SIG's focus on humanitarian applications showcases the potential for decentralized identity to address critical social challenges.
APAC/ASEAN Discussion Group
The APAC/ASEAN group hosted comprehensive discussions on regional digital identity initiatives, including:
- Korean Foreign Visitor System: Detailed presentation on digital identity solutions for foreign visitors to South Korea, including visa digitization and medical tourism applications
- Regional Interoperability: Explored challenges and opportunities for cross-border identity verification and credential recognition
- Privacy Frameworks: Discussed regulatory approaches across different jurisdictions and their implications for digital identity adoption
- Medical Tourism Applications: Examined specific use cases for digital credentials in healthcare and travel scenarios
The group's focus on practical, cross-border applications demonstrates the global relevance of decentralized identity solutions.
DIF Hospitality & Travel SIG
The Hospitality & Travel SIG showcased cutting-edge applications of decentralized identity in travel:
- Agentic Commerce Platform: Featured comprehensive demonstration of AI-powered travel booking systems using decentralized identity for secure agent-to-agent communications
- Corporate Travel Innovation: Explored applications for corporate travel management with AI agents handling complex booking scenarios
- Industry Integration: Demonstrated practical implementations with major travel industry partners and payment systems
- Future Vision: Outlined roadmap for AI-driven, personalized travel experiences built on decentralized identity foundations
The SIG's presentations highlighted the transformative potential of combining AI agents with decentralized identity for seamless travel experiences.
📖 User Group Updates
DIDComm User Group
The DIDComm User Group explored practical implementations and emerging applications:
- AI Integration: Extensive discussions on integrating DIDComm with AI agents and home automation systems
- Technical Compatibility: Clarified DIDComm's compatibility with various cryptographic methods including BBS+ signatures
- Bluetooth Applications: Explored local mesh networking applications and proximity-based communications
- Implementation Challenges: Addressed practical questions about protocol implementation and deployment
The user group continues to drive practical adoption of DIDComm technologies.
📢 Announcements
Join Steven McCown at Identity Week America
Steven McCown, Chief Architect at Anonyome Labs and DIF leadership member, will be speaking at Identity Week America Steve McCown | Identity Week America on Day 2 at 11:00 with "Digital identity: It may be secure, but will it protect your privacy?"
Steven will examine how "modern identity systems authenticate users with advanced identity, encryption, and communication technologies" yet still impact user privacy. His presentation will illustrate the privacy risks of "phone home" architectures and demonstrate how decentralized identity "helps platform providers overcome these problems through peer-to-peer identifiers and verification methods that don't require issuer participation."
The session will also explore how recent Utah legislation is creating new models for privacy-oriented digital identity in government systems.
Don't miss this essential discussion on building truly privacy-preserving identity solutions.
Join Nick Price and Doug Rice at HTNG Connect Europe
Join DIF H&T community leaders Nick Price and Doug Rice at HTNG Connect Europe in The Hague for two sessions on decentralized identity in travel and hospitality! Nick Price, CEO of NetSys Technology Ltd., will present "Redefining Trust: The Role of Decentralized Identity in the Future of Hospitality" (12:30-13:00, Mesdag Ballroom), exploring how decentralized digital identity offers a new paradigm for secure, guest-centric experiences and seamless travel solutions.
Doug Rice, chair of the DIF Hospitality & Travel Working Group, will join Nick for the interactive breakout session "Decentralized Identity in Action: Use Cases, Standards, and Industry Collaboration" (14:00-14:45, Red Room). This will be an open discussion on real-world pilots, emerging use cases, and the development of standard traveler profile schemas designed to support interoperability and privacy across the travel ecosystem.
Blog Series Exploring AI and Decentralized ID
DIF has kicked off the "Scaling AI DIFferently" blog series featuring guest articles from DIF Ambassador and Vidos Co-Founder Misha Deville on decentralized identity's critical role in building trust in agentic systems. Start here.
DIF Labs Beta Cohort 2 Final Showcase - September 23rd
Mark your calendars for the DIF Labs Beta Cohort 2 final showcase on September 23rd. Each project team will have 7 minutes to present their work followed by 8 minutes of Q&A. The event will feature:
- Live demonstrations of privacy-preserving credential technologies
- Open-source implementations ready for community adoption
- Learning opportunities with DIF's expert community
Register here: https://luma.com/849iikfj
📅 Community Events
Upcoming Industry Presentations
DIF community members will be presenting at several major industry events in September and October:
- HTNG Connect in The Hague: Nick Price and Douglas Rice are presenting at HTNG Connect Europe.
- Identity Week America: Steve McCown is speaking at Identity Week America.
- IIW October 2025: Many in the DIF community will be attending the Internet Identity Workshop in October.
Community Contributors
We continue to appreciate the dedicated contributions of our community members who drive DIF's technical work forward. Special recognition goes to the chairs and active participants of our most active working groups, whose consistent engagement and technical expertise make our progress possible.
🆔 Get involved! Join DIF
If you would like to get in touch with us or become a member of the DIF community, please visit our website or follow our channels:
| 🐦 | Follow us on Twitter/X |
| 💻 | Join us on GitHub |
| 📺 | Subscribe on YouTube |
| 🔍 | Read the DIF blog |
New Member Orientations
If you are new to DIF, join us for our upcoming new member orientations. Find more information on DIF's Slack or contact us at community@identity.foundation if you need more information.
