Methods and systems for identity creation, verification and management

1. A method of verifying an identity, the method comprising:

generating, by an identity system, an identity token incorporating an identifier representing identity data of an identity generated for an individual by an identity provider, the incorporated identifier being stored in a data structure associated with program instructions of a smart contract of a distributed ledger system, the data structure and the program instructions of the smart contract being stored in a blockchain of the distributed ledger system:

providing, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a user system of the individual, the generated identity token to the user system:

receiving, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a restricted access system, data extracted from an identity token received by the restricted access system from the user system;

determining, by invoking by the identity system execution of the program instructions of the smart contract by a processor of the distributed ledger system, wherein the program instructions of the smart contract comprise an identity verification function, whether at least a portion of the extracted data matches the identifier stored in the data structure of the smart contract in the blockchain of the distributed ledger system; and

outputting, by the identity system at the interface to the restricted access system, an indication of a validity of the identity generated by the identify provider based on the determination.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier representing the identity data includes a cryptographic hash of the identity data.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining includes providing the identifier representing the identity data as an input to the identity verification function of the smart contract.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identify verification function returns the indication of the validity of the identity associated with the identity data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining determines that the identifier does not exist on the blockchain, and the indication indicates that the identity associated with the identity data is invalid.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining determines that the identifier does exist on the blockchain, and the indication indicates that the identity associated with the identity data is valid.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the indication further indicates a current status of the identity.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the current status includes at least one of: an indication of whether the identity has been revoked, or an indication of an expiration date of the identity.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identity data includes at least one of: a name of the individual, an identification number of the identity of the individual, or an address of the individual.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identity data includes at least one representation of a biometric trait of an individual.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the representation of the biometric trait includes at least one of: a picture of the individual, a fingerprint of the individual, a facial pattern of the individual, an iris pattern of the individual, a retina pattern of the individual, a representation of a voice of the individual, or a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) pattern of the individual.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identity data is validated by an identity provider that provides the identity.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identity token includes, in addition to the identifier, at least one of: an identification of the identity provider, or a digital signature of the identity provider.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data extracted from the identity token further includes a digital signature of the identity provider, and the method further comprises verifying the digital signature using a public key of the identity provider.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the identity system at a second interface from an identity provider system, the identity data.

16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing, by the identity system, the identifier representing the identity data on the blockchain.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein when the data structure containing the extracted identifier is stored on the blockchain, the indication includes that the identity is valid, and when the data structure containing the extracted identifier is not stored on the blockchain, the indication includes that the identity is invalid.

18. At least one non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium having program instructions, which when executed by at least one processor causes a method of providing identity services to be performed, the method comprising:

generating, by an identity system, an identity token incorporating an identifier representing identity data of an identity generated for an individual by an identity provider, the incorporated identifier being stored in a data structure associated with program instructions of a smart contract of a distributed ledger system, the data structure and the program instructions of the smart contract being stored in a blockchain of the distributed ledger system:

providing, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a user system of the individual, the generated identity token to the user system:

receiving, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a restricted access system, data extracted from an identity token received by the restricted access system from the user system;

determining, by invoking by the identity system execution of the program instructions of the smart contract by a processor of the distributed ledger system, wherein the program instructions of the smart contract comprise an identity verification function, whether at least a portion of the extracted data matches the identifier stored in the data structure of the smart contract in the blockchain of the distributed ledger system; and

outputting, by the identity system at the interface to the restricted access system, an indication of a validity of the identity generated by the identify provider based on the determination.

19. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the identifier representing the identity data includes a cryptographic hash of the identity data.

20. A system, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium having program instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause a method of providing identity services to be performed, the method comprising:

generating, by an identity system, an identity token incorporating an identifier representing identity data of an identity generated for an individual by an identity provider, the incorporated identifier being stored in a data structure associated with program instructions of a smart contract of a distributed ledger system, the data structure and the program instructions of the smart contract being stored in a blockchain of the distributed ledger system:

providing, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a user system of the individual, the generated identity token to the user system:

receiving, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a restricted access system, data extracted from an identity token received by the restricted access system from the user system;

determining, by invoking by the identity system execution of the program instructions of the smart contract by a processor of the distributed ledger system, wherein the program instructions of the smart contract comprise an identity verification function, whether at least a portion of the extracted data matches the identifier stored in the data structure of the smart contract in the blockchain of the distributed ledger system; and

outputting, by the identity system at the interface to the restricted access system, an indication of a validity of the identity generated by the identify provider based on the determination.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the identifier representing the identity data includes a cryptographic hash of the identity data.

22. A method of verifying an identity, the method comprising:

generating, by an identity system, an identity token incorporating an identifier representing identity data of an identity generated for an individual by an identity provider, the incorporated identifier being stored in a data structure associated with program instructions of a smart contract of a distributed ledger system, the data structure and the program instructions of the smart contract being stored in a distributed ledger of the distributed ledger system:

providing, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a user system of the individual, the generated identity token to the user system:

receiving, by the identity system at an interface of the identity system to a restricted access system, data extracted from an identity token received by the restricted access system from the user system;

determining, by invoking by the identity system execution of the program instructions of the smart contract by a processor of the distributed ledger system, wherein the program instructions of the smart contract comprise an identity verification function, whether at least a portion of the extracted data matches the identifier stored in the data structure of the smart contract in the distributed ledger of the distributed ledger system; and

outputting, by the identity system at the interface to the restricted access system, an indication of a validity of the identity generated by the identify provider based on the determination, wherein the indication indicates a current status of the identity, the current status including at least one of: an indication of whether the identity has been revoked, or an indication of an expiration date of the identity.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein when the data structure containing the extracted identifier is stored on the distributed ledger, the indication includes that the identity is valid, and when the data structure containing the extracted identifier is not stored on the distributed ledger, the indication includes that the identity is invalid.