Discovering Identity

Validation - Overcoming Identity Fraud
In his recent Network World article, Dave Kearns challenged the Identity Management industry to give special focus to validation in the process of issuing authentication credentials or creating user accounts:

" ... validation - ensuring that the account that gets created accurately reflects the true identity of the entity that it's created for. This step can overcome much of the identity fraud (what the popular press calls “identity theft”) that is prevalent today."

Much of the ongoing controversy swirling around OpenID gets down to this basic issue. If OpenID credentials (or any credentials for that matter) can be issued to a person without verifying their true identity, the potential specter of fraud looms large.

However, as Dave also points out, users are slow to accept any methods that require extra effort:

" ... users, as most of us know, are more reluctant to change than a baseball player on a hitting streak. Getting the changes implemented is going to be a slow slog ... "

Short of government mandated and enforced identification processes that include fingerprinting and retina scans, I'm not sure how bullet-proof validation will occur, but perhaps we will develop methods with acceptable levels of risk that improve over what we have now. A Google search on "identity validation" yields a wide variety of disparate efforts in this area. The Wikipedia article on "Identity Score" highlights methods for "tagging and verifying the legitimacy of an individual’s public identity." Many smart people are addressing the subject, but there is much more work to be done.

Technorati Tags: Identity, Identity Management, Digital Identity, Validation, Dave Kearns

Eve Maler live at Gnomedex
Please join me in watching the XMLGrrl herself, Eve Maler, speak at last week's Gnomedex 8.0 conference, as presented on Chris Pirillo Live. Eve articulately addressed the topic "The Care and Feeding of Online Relationships," covering timely issues related to humans' online relationships with networked applications.
Technorati Tags: Identity, Identity Management, Digital Identity, Eve Maler, Gnomedex

AegisUSA Brings Identity Management to the Mid Market
AegisUSA today announced the release of "AegisUSA Identity Solution Set – Mid Market Offering", a comprehensive Identity Management solution specifically for mid-market sized businesses. Packaging Sun's industry-leading Identity Manager product with proven methods for implementation, training and support services on a fixed-price basis, Aegis is able to offer complete Identity Management solutions at a price point mid market businesses can afford.

“The businesses in the mid market segment have unique needs that companies like Aegis have been able to serve extremely well. Sun's technology combined with Aegis' and its expertise provide a very attractive solution for mid market companies looking for ways to strengthen their identity management solutions,” said Dave Profozich, Vice President of Software - North America, Sun Microsystems. "With quick implementation time, reduced complexity and simplified support for identity management infrastructures, mid market customers can benefit from a great solution."

"We offer a unique total solution approach that includes industry-leading Sun Identity Management software and market-proven AegisUSA Identity Software and Services at a fixed price that mid market businesses can afford,” stated AegisUSA CEO Ralph Armijo.

Congratulations to Aegis for taking a bold step into a market that has been clamoring for this type of packaged approach. I look forward to our joint success.


Technorati Tags: Sun Microsystems, Identity, Identity Management, Digital Identity, AegisUSA

New iTablet?
Will a new iTablet be available from Apple this fall? Drool, drool, drool!




Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Tablet

Chicago-area Identity Management User Group Meeting
Congratulations to the Sun Identity Management User Group in the Chicago area for holding their third user group meeting! Scott Fehrman posted a synopsis of the meeting on his blog.

The Sun Identity Manager Developer Wiki, which I blogged about a few days ago, was launched as an outgrowth of this meeting. On that site, registered users can share their workflows, forms, and other artifacts with the community.

If you wish to be informed (sent emails) of User Group activities, please send an email to RequestChicagoIdmLUG at Sun dot COM and you will be added to the mailing list.


Technorati Tags: Sun Microsystems, Identity, Identity Management, Digital Identity, Chicago

Leadership Quote: Keep in the Sunlight
"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."

-Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)



Technorati Tags: Leadership, Benjamin Franklin, Optimism

Web 2.0 Resume
I don't know Brandon Zeuner, but got a kick out of his Web 2.0-esque web page:



Technorati Tags: Web2.0, Social Media

Ziggy Podcast
When Ziggy can listen to podcasts on seashells, we know that social media has entered the mainstream of our social consciousness!


Technorati Tags: Ziggy, Social Media, Podcast

Social Networking - the Old Fashioned Way
Earlier this week, I saw a great series of ads on the on the Boston Subway (the "T" in the local vernacular) for Dentyne chewing gum. These ad were particularly adroit in capturing the essence of our electronically connected society while firmly emphasizing the ageless quality of in-person interaction.

Thanks to a rapid email response from the Dentyne customer relations folks, I was able to enjoy the "Make Face Time" ad series again on the web. A series of six ads are available for your enjoyment.

You may also enjoy entering the Dentyne.com site via the front door and experiencing the high tech "Flavor Analyzer."

Enjoy! I feel a sudden urge to rush out and buy some gum.


Technorati Tags: Dentyne, Social Networking, Social Media, Chewing Gum

Wally's Law of Powerpoint Simplicity
Taking the "Keep it Simple, Stupid" school of thought to the extreme ...



Technorati Tags: Dilbert, PowerPoint, Presentation

Sun Identity Manager Developer Wiki
My hat is off to Sun Identity Management expert Jeff Bounds, who set up Sun Identity Manager Developer Wiki on wikis.sun.com:

"This is a repository for Identity Manager customers, partners, and Sun Employees to contribute ideas, code, and tips on how to best use Identity Manager. Anyone can contribute, our only requirement is that you register."

I look forward to monitoring and contributing to this open forum, which I believe will become a vital part of the Sun Identity Management community.

Technorati Tags: Sun Microsystems, Identity, Identity Management, Digital Identity, Community, Wiki

Identity and Yul Brenner