Kim Cameron’s Identity Weblog » THE LAWS OF IDENTITY. Kim CameronIdentity and Access ArchitectMicrosoft Corporation May 2005 Applies to: Security Web development Web services Summary: Understand the dynamics causing digital identity systems to succeed or fail in various contexts, expressed as the Laws of Identity. Together these laws define a unifying identity metasystem that can offer the Internet the identity layer it needs. (14 printed pages) Contents Problem StatementWords That Allow DialogueThe Laws of IdentityConclusionFor More Information The Internet was built without a way to know who and what you are connecting to. This paper is about how we can prevent the loss of trust and go forward to give Internet users a deep sense of safety, privacy, and certainty about whom they are relating to in cyberspace.
Problem Statement The Internet was built without a way to know who and what you are connecting to. A Patchwork of Identity “One-Offs” As use of the Web increases, so does users’ exposure to these workarounds. Criminalization of the Internet. Authentication and Identification. The Problem of Identity Each of us has an identity. We are composed of a single physical entity - the human body - to which, typically, a name or sign is attached: 'Stephen Downes', 'The King of England', 'Jennifer 8. Lee', 'Prince'. Identity is important. It is - in a literal sense - who we are. The problem of identity has traditionally been posed as an ontological problem. The problem of identity is today an epistemological problem. In the virtual world, this problem is magnified. Definitions The title of this paper suggests that the answer to the problem consists of two parts: authentication and identification. This is not as easy a distinction as it may seem.
Because of the complexity of contemporary society, a name is seldom sufficient to uniquely identity an individual. Of course, I cannot remember all of these things (usually I'm good for only two or three of them) and so I carry tokens to assist me. Conversely, authentication is impossible without identification. Identity Claims. Am mIDm Application. [mIDm Main Page] Introduction This article releases code and documents a working mIDm application. The attached file, new_login.cgi, can both accept mIDm logins and can act as an identity server for people wishing to use mIDm. As a reminder, here, basically, is how mIDm works: A user tries to access a page on a service to which a login is required.The service obtains the user's mIDm server location from the user's browser headerThe service redirects the user to the user's mIDm server along with a secret codeThe user logs on to the mIDm server (typically using cookies) and stores the secret code on the mIDm serverThe mIDm server returns the user to the serviceThe service then independently checks the mIDm server to see whether the code has been storedThe mIDm server returns the code and requested user information to the serviceOn receiving the code, the service is satisfied, and proceeds to log in the user Trying Out mIDm Installing mIDm Using mIDm mIDm and OpenID Future Work - What You Can Do.
OpenID Foundation website. OpenID Bootcamp Tutorial. OAuth Community Site.