Digital Identities
What is my identity? Why do I have or need multiple identities? We are entitled by our citizenship, or through commercial subscription, to access and consume services or resources. To do this we must be uniquely identifiable. To ensure services are given as required, service providers must be able to verify that we are indeed who we claim to be.
In the real world it was easy. We could be recognised by others. Our physical features, facial structure, stature, fingerprints, voice etc., could be used to identify us. Service providers may ask us to prove our identity by presenting acceptable evidence in the form of an identity card or document, passport, drivers licence etc. which they can look at to verify we are who we are.
In the digital world personal relationships and physical presence don’t help. Digital service providers we subscribe need to get to know us to give us a personal service, and they need to be sure we are who we claim to be. Typically, we use a ‘username’ to identify ourselves. This username must be unique. The digital service providers gives us access based on our username. We typically have a ‘secret’ password to prove that it is indeed us trying to gain access to the service. If we give the right password we gain access.
Are these identities enough in terms of security? How easily can a person other than ourselves copy, steal or emulate our identity and get access to services meant for us?
For a definition of Identity Management you can access this link on Wikipedia: Definition of Identity Management