PROOF OF HUMAN WORK — ATTESTOR FRAMEWORK

Attestors are entities that issue human credentials and verify human presence. They play a crucial role in ensuring the "human" aspect of Proof of Human Work.

Who Can Issue Human Credentials:

1. Accredited institutions (universities, organizations)
2. Trusted verification providers
3. Community-validated attestors
4. Self-attestors (with reputation thresholds)

Attestation Types:

• Identity verification (KYC/AML compliant)
• Credential verification (degrees, certificates)
• Reputation-based (community validation)
• Hardware-based (biometric, hardware keys)

Attestors must:

1. Register with PoHW Foundation
   • Submit public key
   • Provide identity information
   • Agree to audit terms
2. Maintain Public Key
   • Publish at /.well-known/public.txt
   • Rotate keys securely
   • Revoke compromised keys
3. Submit Audit Logs
   • All credential issuances
   • Revocations
   • Key rotations
   • Anomaly reports
4. Undergo Periodic Audits
   • Annual review
   • Random spot checks
   • Incident response audits

Attestors are evaluated on:

• Accuracy of credentials issued
• Rate of false positives/negatives
• Response to revocation requests
• Key management practices
• Transparency of processes
• Compliance with privacy standards

Attestors failing audits may be:

• Suspended from issuing credentials
• Required to improve processes
• Removed from attestor registry

Attestors maintain revocation lists:

• Revoked credential hashes
• Revocation reasons (optional)
• Revocation timestamps
• Public access via API

Revocation Format:

{
  "credential_hash": "0x...",
  "revoked_at": "2025-11-25T00:00:00Z",
  "reason": "compromised|expired|fraud",
  "attestor_signature": "..."
}

Attestors issue DID-based credentials:

Credential Format (W3C Verifiable Credentials):

{
  "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"],
  "type": ["VerifiableCredential", "HumanCredential"],
  "issuer": "did:pohw:attestor:example",
  "issuanceDate": "2025-11-25T00:00:00Z",
  "credentialSubject": {
    "id": "did:pohw:user:example",
    "humanVerified": true,
    "verificationMethod": "in-person|remote|automated"
  },
  "proof": {
    "type": "Ed25519Signature2020",
    "created": "2025-11-25T00:00:00Z",
    "verificationMethod": "did:pohw:attestor:example#key-1",
    "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod",
    "proofValue": "..."
  }
}

1. User holds human credential from attestor
2. User creates content and generates PoHW attestation
3. Attestation includes credential reference
4. Verifier checks credential validity
5. Verifier verifies credential binds to attestation

Institutional Attestors:

• Universities
• Certification bodies
• Government agencies
• Professional organizations

Commercial Attestors:

• Identity verification services
• KYC providers
• Authentication platforms

Community Attestors:

• Peer validation networks
• Reputation systems
• Social proof mechanisms

Self-Attestors:

• Individual verification
• Hardware-based proofs
• Reputation thresholds required

POST /attest/credential

Issue human credential

Auth: Attestor signature

Response: {credential, credential_hash}

GET /verify/credential/{hash}

Verify credential validity

Response: {valid, issuer, issued_at, revoked}

GET /revoke/credential/{hash}

Revoke credential

Auth: Attestor signature

Response: {revoked, timestamp}

GET /attest/audit

Attestor audit logs

Response: [{timestamp, action, credential_hash}, ...]

Attestors must publish:

• Public key (/.well-known/public.txt)
• Audit logs (publicly accessible)
• Revocation registry (queryable)
• Attestation statistics (anonymized)
• Policies and procedures

Attestors must:

• Minimize data collection
• Use zero-knowledge proofs where possible
• Allow credential pseudonymity
• Enable selective disclosure
• Respect user privacy rights

PoHW Foundation maintains public attestor registry:

Registry Format:

{
  "attestor_id": "did:pohw:attestor:example",
  "name": "Example Attestor",
  "public_key": "https://attestor.example/.well-known/public.txt",
  "type": "institutional|commercial|community|self",
  "status": "active|suspended|revoked",
  "registered_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "last_audit": "2025-11-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Registry Location: Attestor Registry (JSON)