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148 lines
8.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
API: Identity
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=============
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.. note:: Before reading this page, you should be familiar with the key concepts of :doc:`key-concepts-identity`.
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.. warning:: The ``confidential-identities`` module is still not stabilised, so this API may change in future releases.
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See :doc:`corda-api`.
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.. contents::
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Party
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-----
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Parties on the network are represented using the ``AbstractParty`` class. There are two types of ``AbstractParty``:
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* ``Party``, identified by a ``PublicKey`` and a ``CordaX500Name``
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* ``AnonymousParty``, identified by a ``PublicKey`` only
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Using ``AnonymousParty`` to identify parties in states and commands prevents nodes from learning the identities
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of the parties involved in a transaction when they verify the transaction's dependency chain. When preserving the
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anonymity of each party is not required (e.g. for internal processing), ``Party`` can be used instead.
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The identity service allows flows to resolve ``AnonymousParty`` to ``Party``, but only if the anonymous party's
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identity has already been registered with the node (typically handled by ``SwapIdentitiesFlow`` or
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``IdentitySyncFlow``, discussed below).
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Party names use the ``CordaX500Name`` data class, which enforces the structure of names within Corda, as well as
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ensuring a consistent rendering of the names in plain text.
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Support for both ``Party`` and ``AnonymousParty`` classes in Corda enables sophisticated selective disclosure of
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identity information. For example, it is possible to construct a transaction using an ``AnonymousParty`` (so nobody can
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learn of your involvement by inspection of the transaction), yet prove to specific counterparts that this
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``AnonymousParty`` actually corresponds to your well-known identity. This is achieved using the
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``PartyAndCertificate`` data class, which contains the X.509 certificate path proving that a given ``AnonymousParty``
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corresponds to a given ``Party``. Each ``PartyAndCertificate`` can be propagated to counterparties on a need-to-know
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basis.
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The ``PartyAndCertificate`` class is also used by the network map service to represent well-known identities, with the
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certificate path proving the certificate was issued by the doorman service.
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Confidential identities
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-----------------------
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Confidential identities are key pairs where the corresponding X.509 certificate (and path) are not made public, so that
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parties who are not involved in the transaction cannot identify the owner. They are owned by a well-known identity,
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which must sign the X.509 certificate. Before constructing a new transaction the involved parties must generate and
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exchange new confidential identities, a process which is managed using ``SwapIdentitiesFlow`` (discussed below). The
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public keys of these confidential identities are then used when generating output states and commands for the
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transaction.
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Where using outputs from a previous transaction in a new transaction, counterparties may need to know who the involved
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parties are. One example is the ``TwoPartyTradeFlow``, where an existing asset is exchanged for cash. If confidential
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identities are being used, the buyer will want to ensure that the asset being transferred is owned by the seller, and
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the seller will likewise want to ensure that the cash being transferred is owned by the buyer. Verifying this requires
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both nodes to have a copy of the confidential identities for the asset and cash input states. ``IdentitySyncFlow``
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manages this process. It takes as inputs a transaction and a counterparty, and for every confidential identity involved
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in that transaction for which the calling node holds the certificate path, it sends this certificate path to the
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counterparty.
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SwapIdentitiesFlow
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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``SwapIdentitiesFlow`` is typically run as a subflow of another flow. It takes as its sole constructor argument the
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counterparty we want to exchange confidential identities with. It returns a mapping from the identities of the caller
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and the counterparty to their new confidential identities. In the future, this flow will be extended to handle swapping
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identities with multiple parties at once.
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You can see an example of using ``SwapIdentitiesFlow`` in ``TwoPartyDealFlow.kt``:
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.. container:: codeset
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.. literalinclude:: ../../finance/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/finance/flows/TwoPartyDealFlow.kt
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:language: kotlin
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:start-after: DOCSTART 2
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:end-before: DOCEND 2
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:dedent: 8
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``SwapIdentitiesFlow`` goes through the following key steps:
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1. Generate a new confidential identity from our well-known identity
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2. Create a ``CertificateOwnershipAssertion`` object containing the new confidential identity (X500 name, public key)
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3. Sign this object with the confidential identity's private key
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4. Send the confidential identity and aforementioned signature to counterparties, while receiving theirs
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5. Verify the signatures to ensure that identities were generated by the involved set of parties
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6. Verify the confidential identities are owned by the expected well known identities
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7. Store the confidential identities and return them to the calling flow
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This ensures not only that the confidential identity X.509 certificates are signed by the correct well-known
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identities, but also that the confidential identity private key is held by the counterparty, and that a party cannot
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claim ownership of another party's confidential identities.
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IdentitySyncFlow
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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When constructing a transaction whose input states reference confidential identities, it is common for counterparties
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to require knowledge of which well-known identity each confidential identity maps to. ``IdentitySyncFlow`` handles this
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process. You can see an example of its use in ``TwoPartyTradeFlow.kt``.
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``IdentitySyncFlow`` is divided into two parts:
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* ``IdentitySyncFlow.Send``
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* ``IdentitySyncFlow.Receive``
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``IdentitySyncFlow.Send`` is invoked by the party initiating the identity synchronization:
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.. container:: codeset
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.. literalinclude:: ../../finance/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/finance/flows/TwoPartyTradeFlow.kt
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:language: kotlin
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:start-after: DOCSTART 6
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:end-before: DOCEND 6
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:dedent: 12
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The identity synchronization flow goes through the following key steps:
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1. Extract participant identities from all input and output states and remove any well known identities. Required
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signers on commands are currently ignored as they are presumed to be included in the participants on states, or to
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be well-known identities of services (such as an oracle service)
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2. For each counterparty node, send a list of the public keys of the confidential identities, and receive back a list
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of those the counterparty needs the certificate path for
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3. Verify the requested list of identities contains only confidential identities in the offered list, and abort
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otherwise
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4. Send the requested confidential identities as ``PartyAndCertificate`` instances to the counterparty
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.. note:: ``IdentitySyncFlow`` works on a push basis. The initiating node can only send confidential identities it has
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the X.509 certificates for, and the remote nodes can only request confidential identities being offered (are
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referenced in the transaction passed to the initiating flow). There is no standard flow for nodes to collect
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confidential identities before assembling a transaction, and this is left for individual flows to manage if
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required.
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Meanwhile, ``IdentitySyncFlow.Receive`` is invoked by all the other (non-initiating) parties involved in the identity
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synchronization process:
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.. container:: codeset
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.. literalinclude:: ../../finance/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/finance/flows/TwoPartyTradeFlow.kt
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:language: kotlin
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:start-after: DOCSTART 07
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:end-before: DOCEND 07
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:dedent: 12
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``IdentitySyncFlow`` will serve all confidential identities in the provided transaction, irrespective of well-known
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identity. This is important for more complex transaction cases with 3+ parties, for example:
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* Alice is building the transaction, and provides some input state *x* owned by a confidential identity of Alice
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* Bob provides some input state *y* owned by a confidential identity of Bob
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* Charlie provides some input state *z* owned by a confidential identity of Charlie
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Alice may know all of the confidential identities ahead of time, but Bob not know about Charlie's and vice-versa.
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The assembled transaction therefore has three input states *x*, *y* and *z*, for which only Alice possesses
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certificates for all confidential identities. ``IdentitySyncFlow`` must send not just Alice's confidential identity but
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also any other identities in the transaction to the Bob and Charlie. |