Edentity

PIB is, in brief, a user-centric approach to identity (& personal information) management that builds upon many of best elements from earlier projects, and has the potential to scale into general purpose infrastructure. We envisage that each individual will commission one or more organisations to act as his agents in the network space, providing (i) secure single-sign-on to multiple distinct service providers; and (ii) a permission-hub with which to control the transmission of personal attributes to and between service providers. Edentity claims patent protection, dating back to the year 2000, for two of the insights that underpin PIB.

In the long run, the likely candidates for the broker role are the mobile network operators, and the banks, since both have the right kind of relationship with the individual, and should have – or can develop – the capacity for secure authentication as a result of their current activities. In the near term, other organisations may fulfil the broker and authentication roles. A new body, provisionally called the eXtensible Circle of Trust (XCOT), will provide the necessary central services, in some ways akin to VISA or Mastercard in the credit-card industry. Service providers will pay for the costs of infrastructure, either as periodic fees for the provision of a secure e-relationship with the individual and updates on the attributes that the individual has chosen to disclose; or as fees paid for the chance to enter into a secure e-relationship.

We think the likely lead application for PIB is to deliver an e-portfolio service (also known as a 'portable personal education record') in education. If this succeeds, learners will carry a brokerage account with them as they move from school to college and into the workplace. They may choose to use their brokerage account not only for qualifications, but also to manage their relationship with a national register of legal identities, to apply for jobs (with a validated CV, and proof of right to work), to open new accounts with financial institutions (such as a provider of student loans), and to purchase age-related services. Other potential applications include secure electronic mail, an infrastructural approach to Instant Messaging and Voice-over-IP, intelligent redirection of conventional mail, e-cash payment services, and various permissioned (or reverse) marketing applications.

For more information about PIB, and the development path that we envisage, please browse this site, or contact Edentity.