Re: [Auth]Greetings...

[Mike Warren]

"John Pugh" <address@hidden> writes:

> It provides all this thru a directory called eDirectory. The
> directory has all the methods mentioned in earlier threads that
> allows for multiple auth methods and already has fault tolerance,
> replication and is built on multiple open standards.

It sounds like it depends on a central database.

Using digital identity tokens would not rely on any central database.

> What's missing is the personal aspect. What's needed is the ability
> to have a personal directory and choose what, if anything, you want
> others to see.

I'm not sure that yet another directory is needed at all; if people
wish to make their identities (whether tokens or whatever) available,
there are already lots of methods of doing so.

I take the goal of ``virtual identities'' to be some method of
reliably communicating your identity to other people (or
web-services). Of course, if the ``other people'' or ``web-services''
don't trust you (and this seems likely for Internet-based
transactions), then you need some way to verify that you are who you
say you are. One also needs to ensure that only the necessary
information (i.e. not too much) is communicated. These are the
problems I was trying to address in my outline of a proposal.

I suppose one could consider this into the realm of authentication.

-- 
address@hidden
<URL:http://www.mike-warren.com>
GPG: 0x579911BD :: 87F2 4D98 BDB0 0E90 EE2A  0CF9 1087 0884 5799 11BD