> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://worlddao.gitbook.io/worlddao-white-paper/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://worlddao.gitbook.io/worlddao-white-paper/advancing-decentralization/operations.md).
# Operations
Operations, in the context of the Worldcoin project, refers to procedures in the “analog world” that allow people to get their World ID verified. The primary participants are Orb operators (i.e. [independent entrepreneurs](https://worldcoin.org/blog/worldcoin/what-is-worldcoin-operator) and their organizations around the world) who provide Orbs in physical locations for people to verify. Certain infrastructure primitives can help reduce trust assumptions and aligning the incentives of all participants.
The graph represents possible ways to increase the transparency and integrity of operations.
#### [Responsible Operations Assurance](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#responsible-operations-assurance)
Auditing of operations from different angles can help reduce trust assumptions and align incentives of ecosystem participants. The following subsections very briefly introduce mechanisms that can help to this end.
[**Code of Conduct**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#code-of-conduct)
Basic set of rules operators should adhere to and can be audited against.
[**Community Hotline**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#community-hotline)
Ability for anyone to submit reports of fraudulent behavior. To avoid spam, this might eventually have to be gated on the reporting individual having a World ID or staking a small sum.
[**In-Person Auditing of Locations**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#in-person-auditing-of-locations)
See [Hardware](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#hardware-2)
[**Incentivized Re-Verification**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#incentivized-re-verification-2)
See [Hardware](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#hardware-2)
[**Location Audit Bounty Program**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#location-audit-bounty-program)
A location-audit bounty program can help increase the resilience of in-person audits by incentivizing random ecosystem participants to audit operations. Importantly, such a bounty program requires careful mechanism design to avoid unintended side effects, including collusion.
[**Onchain Orb Registry**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#onchain-orb-registry-2)
See [section in Orb](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#onchain-orb-registry)
[**Public Orb Metrics for Anomaly Detection**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#public-orb-metrics-for-anomaly-detection)
Metadata from Orbs could be made public to be utilized for distributed anomaly detection, to spot outliers and inform decisions on which Orbs to audit in person as well as surfacing discrepancies between onchain verifications and in-person verifications.
#### [World ID Integrity Mechanisms](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#world-id-integrity-mechanisms)
Distributing the issuance and custody of World ID requires incentive mechanisms to ensure high World ID integrity (i.e. making it hard to illegitimately acquire and use the World ID of others). Such mechanisms across all participants—from hardware manufacturers to individual Orb operators to users—can disincentivize actions that undermine World ID integrity.
There are several scenarios that could result in the illegitimate creation or fraudulent ownership of World IDs:
1. **Verification Device Compromise:** A third party submits fraudulent verifications by compromising the hardware or spoofing the verification process.
2. **Identity Theft:** The device operator or a third party manipulates individuals into verifying or compromising their phone to access their World ID.
3. **Identity Sale:** An individual decides to sell their World ID to a fraudulent actor.
4. **Issuer Fraud:** Organizations developing the firmware for verification devices secretly generate World IDs.
Each scenario decreases the utility of the World ID issued by the Orb, so measures to make these attacks more costly are important. The difficulty of compromising verification devices is increased by the Bug Bounty Programs mentioned in the section about the Orb. Another important defense is the In-Person Auditing of Locations, which increases the difficulty of a large amount of attacks. Additional defenses are described below:
[**Face Authentication**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#face-authentication-2)
As part of the verification process, a signed and encrypted face image could be transferred to the user's phone. The user could then authenticate against that image within the app, an approach similar to FaceID, making it hard to authenticate using the World ID of someone else. Beyond face recognition, the phone would also need to perform liveness detection to prevent spoofing attacks. The security guarantees that such a liveness check has actually been conducted and not spoofed are lower on consumer phones compared to custom hardware like the Orb (given consumer cameras are less advanced and that it is hard to create a trusted execution environment on a person’s phone to ensure computational integrity). With improvements in mobile zero-knowledge proof abilities, it may become possible to compute the authentication and liveness checks inside zero-knowledge proofs on the user's phone, which would increase the security guarantees.
[**Iris Authentication**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#iris-authentication-2)
Similar to face authentication, iris authentication performs a biometric authentication against a biometric template as well as a liveness check. By requiring people to come back to a biometric verification device, the security guarantees that the liveness check has not been spoofed or bypassed are increased at the cost of convenience. If both face authentication and iris authentication were implemented, developers could choose which level of security is required for their application.
[**World ID Reset**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#world-id-reset)
World ID Reset allows anyone to get a new World ID in case they have lost their previous World ID. Further, victims of social fraud and identity theft should be able to reset their World ID through an Orb using only their biometrics. This would also make the purchase of other individuals’ proof of personhood less profitable from a game-theory perspective given individuals could get a new World ID and deactivate the sold one.
[**Revocation**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#revocation-3)
If a particular firmware version of a verification device is deemed insecure or an operating organization is found to be fraudulent, World IDs can be [revoked](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#revocation) in retrospect, to eliminate potential fraudulent identities. Eventually, there might be the need for an adjudication body that conducts such investigations and actions. If any real and legitimate individuals are affected, they could re-verify at an Orb.
#### [\[Research\] Permissionless Operations](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#research-permissionless-operations)
In an ideal world, anyone should be able to acquire Orbs and onboard others. To reach this point, however, significant research is required and operations must be audited with a high degree of certainty.
[**Operators Receive Rewards in WLD**](https://whitepaper.worldcoin.org/#operators-receive-rewards-in-wld)
Initially, operators were paid in USDC. Since the launch, the operator rewards have been transitioned to WLD, where laws allow.
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