Civic – Take control of your identity

Civic is a Blockchain-based identity management tool which aims to reduce identity theft and fraud online.  Civic uses Blockchain technology to protect user identities through SSN tracking (Social Security Number).

At its core, the Civic service notifies users when their social security number is used by a Civic partner (Banks, Credit Bureau, Payment providers, background check companies etc) allowing people to be sure about the legitimacy of the transaction in real-time.

Civic has also collaborated with TransUnion and gives its customers real-time alerts by email or SMS when their credit report is being accessed.

Civic uses Blockchain Technology to decentralise its network in order to make it hack proof

Civic also offers additional features to help protect users’ identity, such as credit report alerting, ID theft recovery insurance, and access to 24/7 fraud support. By offering these services, Civic ultimately aims to become the trusted third party source for securing and verifying users’ identity. To achieve these objectives, its already building partnerships with banks, credit card companies, online lenders, wireless and cable providers, employee verification services – in fact, any institution that uses your identity.

Civic plans to use Blockchain Technology to decentralise its network in order to make it hack proof – that’s the reason it’s collaborating with different players in the Blockchain space. It will then be using two-factor authentication between customers and financial institutions to prevent identity theft. In terms of its revenue model, Civic monetizes by partnering with companies to combat fraud and gets a share in the savings created.

Recently, the CEO of Civic ,Vinny Lingham, encapsulated one of the advantages of Blockchain for the insurance industry: “What Blockchain does really well is ensures you can’t have two copies of the same thing. With Civic, Blockchain technology means no one can use your Social Security number to set up a separate identity.”

Benefit to Customers

• Empowers users to manage their identity theft risk more directly
• Proactive management leads to minimum or no loss for users

Benefit to the Insurer

• Enhanced transparency and reduction in fraud due to real time validation through Blockchain.
• Enhanced efficiency and reduced costs through shared, de-centralised processing
• Differentiated product offering
• Reduction in duplication and real-time data availability for all the stakeholders

Blockchain is proving to be a legitimate disruption for the insurance industry. Those in doubt need only glance at the innumerable companies from startups to universities, large multi-nationals to non-profits, who are exploring Distributed Ledger Technology for purposes other than payments. In this case, Civic, by offering a free identity protection platform,  the distributed ledger (in this case, Blockchain) is being applied to the field of Security and Fraud prevention. Furthermore, Civic plans to use Blockchain to allow consumers to approve the opening of a new credit card, bank account or loan application in their name before it actually happens – this again is enabled through the Social Security Number validated by multiple participants along the Blockchain, thus preventing one single point of failure.

Ultimately, although Civic is still in beta, its success will mostly depend on the depth of commitment of Civic’s affiliate network. Regardless, the very concept of proactive identity protection is quite appealing and has the potential to reach critical mass once an initial level of customer trust is established.

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