Physical: “Having material existence.”

Physical Identity refers to a physical document or device that contains Identity Attributes for an individual. Examples include:

• Drivers license
• Passport
• Credit card
• Birth certificate
• Diploma
• University Transcript

These items are regularly used to validate the Identity of an individual. Each of these examples is issued by an authoritative third party. Other items, such as a resume, may be self-issued, but not deemed authoritative. Validation of claims made on a resume may be subject to third-party confirmation.

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Knowledge:
"the fact or condition of having information"

Accumulated information or knowledge is a key differentiator between individuals.

Knowledge acquistion arises out of experience – thoughts and actions may lead to knowledge. Knowledge implies retention of information, not just exposure to it. For example, two students may read the same text and retain significantly different amounts of knowledge.

We in the information industry speak much of knowledge workers or knowledge management, implying that accumulated or applied knowlege has significant worth.

An interesting tenet of the religion I espouse states that “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (Doctrine & Covenants 130:18-19)

Some knowledge is widely shared. For example, knowledge of the English language is shared by millions of people.

Other knowledge is public, but not well known. For example, you probably don’t know the names of my children, although that information is publicly available.

Some knowledge is private. For example, I share my Social Security Number only with trusted parties.

The more private the knowledge, the less likely it can be used by an identity thief to impersonate another person.

Someday I’ll write a blog about Knowledge and Truth. But today I’ll close with another theological statement about the relationship between knowledge and truth: “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” (Doctrine & Covenants 93:24)

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Experience:
"the conscious events that make up an individual life"

As individuals grow up and move through life, they accumulate experiences which further differentiate each person from another.

Experiences arise out of thoughts and actions. From an theological standpoint, “… the Book of Life is the total of a person’s thoughts and actions—the record of his life.” (Guide to the Scriptures)

In his famous statement Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am, ) Rene Descartes uses the existence of thought to infer the existence of life.

Thoughts lead naturally to actions. A well-known Proverb states, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7

Although experiences in and of themselves can be classified as differntiating attributes, they lead naturally to the formation of other classes of attributes. For example:

1. Experiences between people can establish relationships.
2. Experience can lead to knowledge, but two people having the same experience don’t necessarily gain the same knowledge.
3. Experiences can establish reputation, either positive or negative.
4. Experiences lead to new a person assuming different roles.
5. Experiences help establish characteristics like physical health or emotional state.
6. Experiences can lead people to be in different locations.

Experiences can be happy or sad, euphoric or mundane, significant or trivial. It is the highly different sum of experiences that adds uniqueness to a person’s core identity.

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CIO Magazine reports that Maricopa County,
Arizona, where I live, is the Identity Theft capital of the nation. OUCH!

It seems that our county government’s award-winning move to post public records on line has empowered the bad guys.

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Identity Theft
Arizona

I used to think that driving in the UK was dangerous enough (you know, driving on the left side of the road while trying to juggle a stick shift and cell phone).

Today, both Bruce Schneier and Kim Cameron provide insightful comments on the the UK plan to monitor every car journey: “Britain is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years.”

I first read George Orwell’s 1984 in 1968 when I was 15 years old. I was frankly terrified at the prospect of “Big Brother,” but dismissed the concept as fantasy. Now, almost 40 years later, I find it sad that we are abusing the fanstastic technology in our world to progress, step by step, towards Orwell’s prophetic vision.

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George Orwell
Big Brother

Sun’s CTO Greg Papadopoulos calls for acceleration in the widespread adoption of strong authentication to thwart identity theft.

He proposes the combination of using a mobile phone as a physical security token, coupled with a “Check-That-Its-Me” registration authority (Trusted Third Party).

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Sun Microsystems
GregPapadopoulos
Strong Authentication
Identity Theft

I’m taking a look at Bloggar, a freeware blogging client that I hope will make my blogging adventure a bit easier. If this message magically shows up on my blog, my first test will have been successful.

It worked. Wahoo!

My friends at MG Solutions,
a Sun Identity Management Partner, sent me this clever Christmas card.

When Santa Claus is considering Identity Management, you know it’s going mainstream!

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Christmas
MG Solutions

My colleague Sean O’Neil, aka Identity
Crisis, posted some provocative
comments about the power and danger of Identity Management.

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O’Neil

Jonathan Schwartz is listed on the

AO/Technorati Open Media 100 – the “power list of bloggers, social networkers, tool smiths, and investors leading the Open Media Revolution.”

Congratulations, Jonathan!