ors and standards that we have developed in the pursuit of, and protection for, the liberty of the average citizen – liberties won at great personal cost to many over the centuries. The digital world needs the rule of law, just as much as the real world does.
We must start by accepting that digital identity is part of our present and our future. Once we’ve done that, we can move on to purposefully create a secure digital identity system that has our privacy and the protection of our freedom at its core. It’s not too late, but we really need to get on top of this one right now.
We need a founding legal framework that enshrines our right to privacy, and includes the right to review any personal information held by any other party. Once we have codified the concept of digital privacy and enshrined the rights of the individual to that, we can move on to use technology in ways that will truly serve us.
A secure digital identity system is possible, and we already have all the technology necessary to build one. The security of the system and the protection of our freedom are not to be found in the technology itself, but in how it is structured and deployed. By separating identity from information, we can control our exposure and simplify the system. Imagine if your medical records at your doctor’s offices did not have your name on them; they have all the information about your health, but only a key to your identity. That key only links the information to you when you turn the key in the lock, using parts of your private identity. That is how digital identity should work.
Here are some of the vital elements of a functional digital identity system, to give you an idea of what we are going to have to build in order to harness the benefits of modern technology to serve us all, as we travel down the Path.
- One of the most important standards, is to avoid the collection of large amounts of data in one place. Data should be dispersed, as much as possible, into separated storage silos, each with their own security and access controls. This limits the exposure of any security breach, and makes it almost impossible to mine for information without the appropriate permissions.
- A functional digital identity system will also allow the individual to disclose only those parts of their identity that they wish to, for any given transaction. Buying a train ticket and cashing a check can require completely different levels of identity verification.
- All this can be done without obliging anyone to carry any form of digital identity card, certificate or token. It can all be achieved with a combination of biometric and biognostic information. If we value our freedom, we can never let it be an offense to be peaceful in public without a form of identity.
- Another important feature of a secure system is that it requires the buildout of a secure network that is used to transmit sensitive information, separate from the general access Internet.
Interoperability between the distributed systems is required for the overall functionality of the system, and that means that we need universal standards for the basic elements of digital identity. Without such standards, the systems and the data they contain will remain veiled behind the barriers of commercial intellectual property.
The xID standards developed as part of the Standards of LIFE provide a framework for the key elements we need, including:
- The content of a digital ID record
- A mechanism for verifying the quality of an identity match
- Security
- Audit, search, investigation and management processes
We need to start building a secure, privacy-orientated, public, global digital identity system now.The timescale to implement this is a minimum of three years, and is more likely to be five years, which is half the time we have available to turn our societies into functioning super-trio environments.
We can, and must, start building different aspects of The Path now, and implementing a digital identity system is a keystone element that will make full super-trio functionality both easier and faster.
The reason why all of this matters, is because we need to be able to trust digital systems. Digital communications are vital to enabling the new micro-economy, essential for an energy-efficient future and necessary for administrating our new super-democracies. So we need to reach a place where we can be reasonably assured that allowing our identities to be digitized is not sacrificing our freedom. We need underwear under our kimonos.
Part 19 in the serialization of the The Path to A Future – published 2009.
A new section will be posted every 2 weeks during 2011. Enjoy!
To get a free PDF of the book go to.
1 thought on “The Path to a Future: The Digital Kimono”
We need modern protection!Deduction of Rs 60,000 per annum for persons doesnâ€™t have HRA and paying rent. Earlier it was only Rs 24000.
Lower Corporate tax for small companies at 29% surcharge + cess have turnover below 5 crores.
Presumptive tax extended for professional earning up to Rs 50 lakhs.
Net impact of taxation proposals is an increase in Govt. revenue by Rs 19,610 cr.
Monetary limit for cases to be decided by 1-member bench up from 15 lakhs to 50 lakhs.
Hike in to limit from 1 to 2 crores on small business assess in MSME category.
stands firmly behind public sector banks, Rs 25k crores for bank recapitalization.
SEBI act to be amended to provide more benches on the security appellate tribunal.
PM Mudra Yojna amount sanctioned has reached Rs 1 Lakh crores; next year’s target is 180000 crores.
3000 crores rupees earmarked for nuclear power generation.
55,000 crores for roads and highways.Â 50000 km of state highways to be taken up for up gradation as national highways.
Rs 9,000 crores allocated to Swaccha Bharat Abhiyaan.Â 500 crores for startup India.
is committed to achieve 100% village electrification by 1st May 2018.CATSKILLS - COLGATE LAKE TRAIL/EAST KILL VALLEY:...
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With rain forecast for the afternoon, I decided to go out for a lowland morning walk on the Colgate Lake Trail in the broad East Kill valley on the south side of the Blackhead Range. Carol and I had gone 2.5 mi. in on this trail to a scenic beaver meadow a few years ago, but had turned back when we encountered lingering rotten snow. I wanted to return to that spot and continue farther up the valley to more meadows, one at the site of an old settlement, and a small waterfall on the East Kill. Carol decided to take a day off from hiking, so this would be a solo ramble.
The expansive fields along the first part of the Colgate Lake Trail offer fine mountain views, especially of the Blackhead Range as seen here.
A close-up of Blackhead Mountain and its south spur, which I had bushwhacked up in rain and snow back in 2007, as recounted here.
The flat crest of the summit called Arizona.
Off to the left, Black Dome and Thomas Cole Mountains.
The Colgate Lake Trail has easy grades, though there was some wet footing, as would be expected in April.
Some unexpected sun illuminated the beaver meadow 2.5 mi. in, with the ridge of the Escarpment in the distance.
Beyond here was new territory for me. A rebuilt bridge led across the East Kill in a neat meadowy spot.
The peaceful flow of the East Kill.
A bit farther along the trail I came to the gorgeous meadow I'd read about, the site of a thriving farm community in the 1800s. This remote opening has views of the Blackhead Range...
...and the nearby peak of Arizona.
An inviting band of ledges up there, perhaps accessible from the Escarpment Trail.
This spot provided a great profile of the long south ridge of Blackhead.
Blackhead is an impressive peak from this angle.
The seat I used while enjoying the meadow.
Another 0.1 mi. up the trail, reached by a side path, was the pretty cascade on the East Kill.
I was tempted to continue up to Dutcher Notch, a gap in the Escarpment, but I didn't want to have a long walk out in the rain, so I headed back. On the other side of the East Kill from the meadow were these remains of an old junker.
I took some time to explore more beaver meadows just off the trail. This area reminded me of the Zealand valley in the Whites.
The East Kill meandering through the meadows.
I made another stop at the first meadow along the trail, and relaxed on a convenient log for a while.
Evidence of recent beaver activity along a tributary of the East Kill.
Classic Catskill hardwood forest along the trail.
Light rain was falling