General FAQs
What is iSHARE?
iSHARE Foundation is a non-profit organisation maintaining the iSHARE Trust Framework, which consists of agreements and technical specifications that facilitate secure data exchange between organisations
What are data spaces?
Data Spaces are secure environments that allow participants to exchange data freely while adhering to established rules that ensure data sovereignty and transparency. Data spaces support a decentralised approach where data remains with the provider, and only metadata or algorithms are shared.
Learn more about this topic in our Cookbook for Data Spaces.
Why is trust a crucial component in data sharing?
Trust is a fundamental factor in data sharing, as it establishes the organisational foundation to exchange data with confidence. It ensures that data sharing is done securely and confidentially, even after it's handed over to other parties. This entails implementing adequate data protection measures, such as encryption and access controls, to safeguard the privacy and security of the data. It minimises the risk of unauthorised access, loss, or theft, which fosters collaboration and innovation. When parties have mutual trust, they are more inclined to openly share data and collaborate on developing new insights and solutions.
How do Data Spaces differ from traditional data exchange models?
Traditional data exchanges often involve centralised solutions where data is transferred and stored in a central repository. In contrast, data spaces operate on a decentralized model, allowing data providers to retain control over their data. Participants share only what is necessary, such as metadata or algorithms, without relinquishing ownership of the data itself.
What are the core principles of data spaces?
Data Spaces are built on several core principles, including:
Decentralisation: Ensuring that no single entity controls the entire data space.
Openness: Allowing broad participation while adhering to shared standards.
Transparency: Making data usage and governance clear to all participants.
Sovereignty: Ensuring data owners retain control over their data.
Interoperability: Facilitating seamless data exchange across different systems and platforms.
Why do we need building blocks for Data spaces?
Building Blocks are elements essential for designing a data space and promoting its sustainability and growth.
These Building Blocks are tailored to meet the specific requirements of different use cases, such as smart cities, fintech, industrial IoT, or healthcare. In general, they serve the following purposes:
Data Interoperability: These building blocks facilitate efficient data exchange among participants, enabling a complete separation between data providers and consumers.
Data Sovereignty and Trust: These building blocks provide technical assets that ensure participants in a data space can trust each other and exercise sovereignty over the data they share
Data value creation: These building blocks support the creation of multi-sided markets where participants can generate value out of sharing data (i.e., creating data value chains).
Data Space Governance: These building blocks consist of a set of agreements and practices that ensure proper management, sharing, and appropriate use of data within the data space.
Is the iSHARE Trust Framework a building block?
The iSHARE Trust Framework provides several building blocks for data sharing. This enables secure and standardised data sharing by incorporating agreements and technical specifications for identity and access management. These building blocks can be integrated with other building blocks of data spaces to establish a comprehensive and secure data-sharing environment that aligns with an organisation’s unique needs and requirements.
How is the Participant Registry in the iSHARE network unique?
The Hyperledger based Participant Registry is the Trust Anchor and within a data space plays a crucial role in ensuring trust and compliance. It is responsible for evaluating whether parties adhere to the data space agreements. In a data space, the Data Space Governance Body maintains the Participant Registry of data space participants. Each participant in the data space is linked to the Data Space Governance Body through the Participant Registry. They can verify in the Participant Registry whether other parties in the data space are trusted and compliant.
When a participant seeks admission to the data space, the Data Space Governance Body verifies their compliance with technical standards, their verified identity, and their signed contract. This onboarding process establishes a user-friendly approach to data sharing while upholding security measures. Certified parties, due to their role in the iSHARE network, undergo a more stringent evaluation process. The Trust Framework also provides an assessment framework to ensure that certified parties meet the specific requirements associated with their role.
To learn more about the Participant Registry and its primary use cases within the iSHARE Trust Framework, continue reading here.
What is different about the iSHARE Trust Framework?
The iSHARE Trust Framework serves as the base layer for a data space, playing a crucial role in ensuring trust and compliance. The Trust Framework provides federated governance and data sovereignty to a data space as well as facilitates user-friendly onboarding of compliant parties.
How to start using the iSHARE Trust Framework?
You can start using the iSHARE Trust Framework for data sharing by implementing the technical specifications, defining your governance and collaborating with like-minded organisations. We provide the DSSC based Data space template to help you define your data space.
How to join a data space based on the iSHARE Trust Framework?
You will have to comply with the technical specifications as well as the operational and legal agreements set by the data space. Once the Data Space Governance Body or other delegated entity or organisation has verified that you comply with all the necessary requirements, you can join the data space.
How to set up a data space using the iSHARE Trust Framework?
Explore the Technical implementation using our Developer portal and the Postman collections to understand the iSHARE flows.
Request Access to Experimental or Test Data space through [email protected].
Try Out Adhering Roles using our pre-existing test participant registry.
Deploy your own test data space using our GitHub repository.
Schedule a call with us to discuss further collaboration and setting up a production level data space based on the iSHARE Trust Framework.
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