Sunday, May 01, 2005
Digitial Identity in Cyberspace
Digitial Identity in Cyberspace: "Executive Summary
Currently there is no generic system for identification in cyberspace. It is not possible to absolutely identify an entity or to accurately tell whether an object has a specific characteristic. Digital environments have inherent differences from real space which causes this discrepancy, and when implementing an identity system for cyberspace one needs to consider more than just the architectural nature of the system - any system chosen will have social repercussions which need to be also taken into account.
Identity is a unique piece of information associated with an entity. Identity itself is simply a collection of characteristics which are either inherent or are assigned by another. The color of a person's hair and whether or not another thinks he is attractive is part of a person's identity.
Interactions done in real space inherently carry the identity of the person originating the transaction. Generally, physical traits are carried along in a transaction - for example when one purchases a book from a book store, the book dealer may remember the buyer's face or build.
The difference between real space and cyberspace is that the essence of any digital transaction is unbundling. Ones and zeros do not inherently carry any separate information along with them; a real space transaction carries along inseparable secondary information. Digital transmissions can only transmit; there is no secondary information encoded in the transmission unless explicitly put there. Thus, for authentication purposes, additional information needs to be carried with cyberspace transactions for identity purposes."
Currently there is no generic system for identification in cyberspace. It is not possible to absolutely identify an entity or to accurately tell whether an object has a specific characteristic. Digital environments have inherent differences from real space which causes this discrepancy, and when implementing an identity system for cyberspace one needs to consider more than just the architectural nature of the system - any system chosen will have social repercussions which need to be also taken into account.
Identity is a unique piece of information associated with an entity. Identity itself is simply a collection of characteristics which are either inherent or are assigned by another. The color of a person's hair and whether or not another thinks he is attractive is part of a person's identity.
Interactions done in real space inherently carry the identity of the person originating the transaction. Generally, physical traits are carried along in a transaction - for example when one purchases a book from a book store, the book dealer may remember the buyer's face or build.
The difference between real space and cyberspace is that the essence of any digital transaction is unbundling. Ones and zeros do not inherently carry any separate information along with them; a real space transaction carries along inseparable secondary information. Digital transmissions can only transmit; there is no secondary information encoded in the transmission unless explicitly put there. Thus, for authentication purposes, additional information needs to be carried with cyberspace transactions for identity purposes."
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