Northern Block / 4sure
Identity Platforms/FrameworksEnterprise digital trust platform providing no-code credential issuance, verification, and trust registry management via the NB Orbit platform. Pioneered commercial SSI platform in Canada (launched 2020). Merged with Sphereon to form 4sure Technology Solutions. Active in mining supply chain credentials (Government of BC Mines Act Permits, Mining Association of Canada TSM), IATA air travel trust registry pilots, and Canadian foundational digital identity initiatives.
Hybrid Company Medium capture risk
Links
Details
License Closed source
Dev Status Released
Owner Northern Block (merged with Sphereon to form 4sure Technology Solutions); Mathieu Glaude (Founder & CEO)
Country Canada
Start Year 2018
Stack JavaScript/TypeScript
Funding Undisclosed
Last Investigated Mar 10, 2026
Identity Toolkit / Platform Attributes
Permissions Commercial / Apache 2.0 Underlying Stack — NB Orbit Enterprise and Orbit Edge are commercially licensed products by Northern Block / 4sure Technology Solutions; no OSI-licensed source code for the platform is published. The underlying Hyperledger Aries frameworks (ACA-Py, Credo-TS/AFJ) are Apache 2.0 open source; Northern Block actively contributes to them. Open-source standards (W3C DID, VC, AnonCreds, AIP 1.0/2.0) are used throughout, avoiding vendor lock-in.
Development Tools Built on Hyperledger Aries open-source stack: ACA-Py (Aries Cloud Agent Python, Apache 2.0) for cloud/server-side agents; AFJ / Credo-TS (Aries Framework JavaScript, Apache 2.0, now OpenWallet Foundation) for mobile wallet development (Orbit Edge); AATH (Aries Agent Test Harness) for AIP compliance testing; AnonCreds specification (open standard) for ZKP credentials with CL signatures. NB Orbit Enterprise is a no-code SaaS platform built on these frameworks; the platform itself is not published as open source. Hyperledger Indy networks (Hyperledger Apache 2.0) used as the underlying VDR.
Authentication & Identity Decentralized ID (DID) with Aries-based agent architecture; passwordless authentication via VCs; organizational wallet identity
Storage Model Cloud (SaaS platform); credential data in holder wallets (mobile); trust registries hosted by Orbit platform
Interoperability High: Aries interop (AIP 1.0/2.0 compliance tested via AATH); partnership with Credivera for workforce credentials; IATA trust registry pilot; Government of BC integration; DIACC participation
Data Portability Standards-based export (W3C VCs; AnonCreds; open standards prevent vendor lock-in)
Governance & Decision Making Company-controlled (Northern Block / 4sure); active in DIACC, Trust over IP Foundation (ToIP), standards bodies
Identity Standards W3C DID; W3C Verifiable Credentials; Hyperledger Aries RFCs; AnonCreds; OpenID4VC; IETF High-Assurance DIDs with DNS
DID Methods Supported did:web, did:key, did:sov (Sovrin network), did:indy; trust registry DID resolution
Key Management Platform-managed (Orbit Enterprise manages organizational keys); user-controlled (Orbit Edge wallet with on-device storage)
Credential Types Verifiable Credentials (W3C VCDM); AnonCreds; mining permits (BC Mines Act); sustainability credentials (TSM); workforce credentials (Credivera); foundational IDs
Verification Method Cryptographic signature verification; AnonCreds ZKP verification (CL signatures; BBS+ planned); trust registry validation
Privacy Features AnonCreds (ZKP with selective disclosure, predicate proofs, compounding proofs, data minimization, connectionless verification); privacy-preserving proof requests
Authentication Methods Passwordless authentication via VCs; connectionless verification; QR code scanning; DIDComm
Revocation Mechanism Issuer revocation (supported in Orbit Enterprise); AnonCreds revocation registries
Agent Types Supported Humans (individuals via Orbit Edge wallet); Organizations (via Orbit Enterprise organizational wallet); Government entities (BC government integration)
Wallet/Client Types Mobile app (Orbit Edge Wallet); web-based (Orbit Enterprise dashboard); SDK integration
Recovery Mechanisms Wallet-dependent (device backup; platform-managed organizational recovery)
Compliance / Regulations Canadian government standards (DIACC Foundational ID, PCTF); UNTP alignment (UN Transparency Protocol for supply chains)
Credential Exchange Protocols DIDComm; Aries RFC 0037 (Present Proof 1.0); OpenID4VCI; OpenID4VP; Presentation Exchange; connection-based and connectionless exchanges
Trust Framework Trust registries (Orbit Trust Registry product); Aries-based trust; IATA trust framework for air travel; government-anchored trust (BC government)
Cost Model Paid SaaS (Orbit Enterprise tiered pricing)
Censorship Resistance Service provider dependent (SaaS platform; credentials in open standards are portable)