Authentication and Identification

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Authentication and Identification
On the one hand, we have the assertion that I am a certain person. That is 'identification'. It is the specific process of attaching an identity of a presence - either a physical presence, or in the context of our current enquiry, a virtual presence. And on the other hand we have the verification - the means of proof that what I say is true, that there is sufficient evidence for my claim. That is 'authentication'. In this paper I argue that we we don't need authentication, that authentication won't work, and that people don't want it. What will work? What do people want? Identification. By Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, May 3, 2005 [Refer][Research][Reflect]. More...