Competition on blockchain authentication for digital finance

The “shared secret” username-password model of authentication comes with security risks too great for digital financial services.

Even the best-formulated passwords can be compromised. When user credentials are stolen, people’s investments, credit card accounts, and hard-earned savings tend to follow.

Are you working on password-less authentication solutions on blockchain to safeguard people’s money?

The ITU Blockchain Secure Application Challenge welcomes your participation.

Registration for the challenge is open until 30 April.

The challenge – presented by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with the support of FNSV Korea – contributes to the work of the ITU Security Lab for Digital Financial Services.

Rise to the challenge

Participating developers will be able showcase and hone their skills, gain global recognition, and rally support for their innovations.

They will contribute to trust in digital financial services, supported along the way by mentors and in-depth tutorials.

The challenge will deliver strong authentication solutions with the potential for market adoption, while helping to build up innovation capacity in this vital cyber and financial security field around the world.

User-friendly security

Security is one goal. User-friendliness is another.

Solutions should give providers of digital financial services easy customer onboarding, while giving customers easy authentication for account access anytime, anywhere.

Challenge participants are expected to implement:​

• Password-less application-login authentication
• Password-less transaction confirmation
• Password-less access-control authentication

Competition format and prizes

Participants can enter the challenges as individuals or in teams of up to five people.

The winner will receive a cash prize of USD 5,000, with USD 3,000 and USD 2,000 offered for second and third place.

The challenge will culminate at the Global Standards Symposium on 14 October (World Standards Day) in New Delhi, India. This key moment for the international standards community precedes the governing conference for ITU standardization work, the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), set to take place from 15 to 24 October.

Check out the challenge homepage and contact the organizers.