Custom User Verification

# Introduction

Verification is the process that enrols a device with cryptographic material used for future authentications. With the M-PIN Authentication Protocol, an authentication can’t be facilitated without a User ID provisioned in advance. There are no restrictions on this process. It can be online - email or SMS verification or offline - end user presenting their national ID to a representative. MIRACL Trust uses email verification by default, and Custom User Verification is the mechanism used to implement a bespoke verification flow. Using Custom User Verification, you are responsible for verifying your end users, and MIRACL Trust requires this verification to issue a User ID.

# How It Works

Custom User Verification allows you to implement any verification flow. You need to verify the User ID of the end user and provide that verification to the platform which generates a Verification URL. When the client application receives the Verification URL, it should confirm the verification by calling the getActivationToken method. This is handled automatically if you use the MIRACL Trust authorisation page or the MIRACL Trust Authenticator. Otherwise, you can use the getActivationToken method of the Client JS Library, Android, or iOS libraries.

Then, the end user is prompted to choose a PIN. After the PIN is confirmed, the enrolment process is completed. The device where this process is taking place is provisioned with a User ID. End users can now authenticate using the PIN chosen for the device. They can go through the verification process for each device they want to use for authentication or use QuickCode to enrol additional devices using the already enrolled one.

# Custom User Verification

With MIRACL-managed Custom User Verification, a Verification URL is issued that can be used to enrol a device without any verification from the platform side. This Verification URL can be used both during the actual verification (sent as email, SMS, or IM to verify the identity) or after the verification. When opened, the end user is prompted to choose their PIN and the device is enrolled.

sequenceDiagram Client ->+ RPA: Start verification process for User ID RPA ->+ MIRACL: Request Verification URL MIRACL -->- RPA: Verification URL RPA -->- Client: Verification URL Client ->+ MIRACL: Request Activation Token MIRACL -->- Client: Activation token Client --> Client: Enter PIN Client --> Client: Complete User ID registration

RPA stands for Relying Party Application; in this case, it is your application’s backend.

# Configure the Verification

Before using any of the Custom User Verification mechanisms, you need to:

Go to the MIRACL Trust Portal to change the settings of your project.
Go to your project.
Select User Verification in the Configuration navigation section.
From the Verification Method dropdown, select Custom. This enables additional configuration options for customised verification:

Custom Verification URL - If the end user navigates to the login page without having a pre-registered User ID, they are requested to start the verification process. The Custom Verification URL is the link on your system to which the end user is redirected to start the verification process.

Note that the Custom Verification URL is different from the Verification URL. The Custom Verification URL is the URL for registering in your system that you set up in the MIRACL Trust Portal. The Verification URL is issued by the platform and is used to transfer the verification to the platform, finishing the verification flow.
Custom Verification Text - Before being redirected to the Custom Verification URL, the end user sees a screen with verification instructions. Here you can specify a custom text to be displayed. The default text is:
```
We need to verify this device before you can register. Select Start Verification to be redirected to the verification page.
```
User ID Type - By default, MIRACL Trust uses an email address as an end-user identifier. If you use Custom User Verification where this is not a requirement, you can have a User ID scheme that does not rely on emails. You can change the value to Alphanumeric to allow for other identifiers like usernames or account numbers.
User ID Text - The label displayed when referring to the end-user identifier. When you set the User ID Text to Email, it defaults to Email. When you set it to Alphanumeric, it defaults to User ID.

Configuring Custom User Verification incurs additional costs for your account.

# Implement the Verification

When the end user’s User ID is verified, you must request the Verification URL to be sent from the platform. The Verification URL is generated by making an authenticated POST request to https://api.mpin.io/verification.

curl \
    --request POST \
    --user "${YOUR_CLIENT_ID}:${YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET}" \
    --data '{
        "userId": "'"${USER_ID}"'",
        "deviceName": "'"${DEVICE_NAME}"'",
        "clientId": "'"${YOUR_CLIENT_ID}"'",
        "redirectURI": "'"${YOUR_REDIRECT_URI}"'",
        "expiration": "'"${EXPIRATION}"'",
        "scope": ["openid", "email"],
        "delivery": "no"
    }' \
    https://api.mpin.io/verification

With the following response:

{
  "verificationURL": "https://api.mpin.io/verification/confirmation?user_id=<USER_ID>&code=<CODE>"
}

All values are redacted.

The end user needs to follow the URL from the response to enrol a new device.

See MIRACL Trust Backend API for more details.