This invention is directed toward a communications server that enables individual actors on the Internet to be registered, their identities to be confirmed at an acceptable level of confidence, and their association with, and/or ownership of, certain user identifiers (such as email addresses, phone numbers, domain names, application usernames, and the like), to be verified. The invention also enables Internet actors communicate at different levels of security and to encrypt or sign digital messages and/or documents between each other while maintaining sole possession and control of their private cryptographic keys. To ensure the integrity of user information on the communications server has not been compromised, the invention includes embodiments to periodically backup crucial data in a publicly accessible blockchain format that cannot reasonably be altered, but can be independently verified.