Identity And Privacy Blog

Since my flurry of activity a week ago and subsequent blog posting and creation of new threads, the Identity and Privacy forum has been VERY quiet....

I am not sure if it's because there was just too much information posted at one time? Or because nobody has anything to say?

Agenda this week is that I pull together the framework for the 'identity and privacy' guide. That I promised before the end of May, and just realised that this is Thursday this week! Time passes fast when it's fun!

Any suggestions on how I can 'spice' up forum activity appreciated?

I am still looking for volunteers that have legal experience in IT to help us unravel the complexities when it comes to global privacy laws. I have created to threads for this in the forums space of identity and privacy.

Karen

 

Hi, here comes the weekly update.... I am trying to post on during the weekend, but didn't make it this weekend. However I do have a very nice new home office that materialized over the weekend, so feeling it was pretty productive, means I have a more comfortable environment on which to sit and post away on this ISM-community :-)

It has started raining this evening, so also very good weather today to be sitting indoors! Pity I can't send some of this 'down-under', according to Tim they're having a bad time through lack of rain there, and here is so lovely and wet!

OK, so updates during the week are as follows: 

1. What is an identity? It doesn't matter how may virtual identities you have, whether they are alias or not, they all count as your identity and can have an impact on your reputation -your real reputation and your virtual. Check out the forum to understand how we got here. If you dispute these conclusions, then you are welcome to post.

2. There have been agreements also concerning the definitions of 'identification' and 'authentication'. Check out the glossary being compiled by Mark in the downloads space. If you want to understand how we got here take a visit to the forum. We are also in agreedmentconcerning what is meant by authorization surprisingly! Although there maybe some subtle re-wording later.

3. A standard Privacy Policy has been uploaded into the download space. Although this is just one of several. I plan to add additional policies that include 'opt-in' and 'opt-out' as defaults. Check out the privacy forum for more information on what I mean here.

4. There are 2 new threads looking at privacy legislation. The first thread on adoption of the DPA in the EU on a local country level, the second thread in on differences in legislation between the EU and the US. Each of these threads are looking pretty empty right now, so please go in there and start posting!

This is all for now, have fun posting and look forward to meeting you there!

Karen 

We have a standard privacy policy donated by SourceClear. Check out the following http://www.ism-community.org/forums/t/551.aspx.

And there have been some lively discussions concerning definitions on identity, identification, authentication and authorization that apart from being lively have been fun and got some of us thinking...

We have a glossary definition for AuthN: http://www.ism-community.org/blogs/commonsblog/archive/2007/05/10/it-s-all-about-semantics.aspx

We are ready to roll out more.... although my apologies the last week that I haven't been so active as I have had other committments.

Looking forward to another fun week!

Karen 

Welcome to the Identity and Privacy Focus Area. I plan to blog post here weekly with news of progress for those that don't want to delve into the forums / mailing lists. You can subscribe to these updates via RSS at the side bar.

A lot of research needs to be done: firstly we need to see what is going on already in this space. Typical examples are Liberty Alliance, Higgins and Eclipse, and FRAME projects, all in the space of identity and privacy. We need to understand these projects what they offer and how they differentiate. What can we take from there and re-use? What can we offer in addition to help clear the confusion that we all feel when presented with yet another ideal solution to resolve the identity management nightmare. In addition we need to dive into the changing landscape of identity and privacy, keep abreast of what's happening out there, as it affects every one of us. Check out my blog to have an idea of what I mean here.

1. The first project I have started as part of this Focus Area is to agree on definitions for common terminology used in the identity and privacy space. For example when we talk about identity what are we talking about? A couple of threads have been started in the forum area for identity and privacy to encourage discussion. Take a look... the idea is not that there is a right or wrong answer, the point is that when we are in the future discussing identity, authentication or authorization or whatever, that we all are talking the same language. A tip: when we are discussing these fundamentals, try and get back to basics. The result from these discussions will provide the foundation for all subsequent discussions and projects.

2. A parallel project will be the creation of a standard Privacy Policy. I have not started this yet. If you would like to volunteer to help please post to the identity and privacy forum. I will start a thread later today. Of course it goes without saying that if any company would like to donate their policies and standards or anyone has anything which would make a solid base then please contact me. We can make sure there is nothing sensitive and all identifying data is stripped out before they are placed online.

Welcome and look forward to meeting you online!

Karen