“Chain of Identity” is a Missing Element of Cybersecurity

Trust is the currency of security. For transactions and interactions requiring a high level of fidelity, then identification, authentication, and authorization is an absolute requirement for all the reasons cited by the author Herb Kelsey who recently wrote the blog:

High Trust Business Models: “chain of identity”, a missing element of cyber security for AI's, crypto-currency, block chains, IOT and other platforms.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/high-trust-business-models-chain-identity-missing-element-herb-kelsey/

However, there is another aspect we should not lose sight of while discussing what is needed to establish a strong chain of identity, that is its counterpoint, namely PRIVACY. Both Identity and Privacy are desired and beneficial, establishing one does not displace the desire for the other.

Not all transactions require identity. When you use cash to purchase something, there is no expectation that you also must provide your ID. In some cases, just being part of a group is sufficient and individual identity is not required. When voting for example, it is really only important to know someone is in the voting group and are not voting more than once.

I like the direction and coined phrase “Chain of Identity” as it is necessary to protect against fraud, theft, forgery, impersonation, and to hold both natural persons, and corporate & digital entities accountable to their actions. Some nations are already moving down this space, India has a government biometric identity for all citizens and China requires all social media accounts tie back to a known identity to reduce fraud and crackdown on malicious posts that incite or do harm. In the financial industry there are controls to clearly Know Your Customer (KYC), both for tax reasons but also to thwart fraud and track down stolen assets.

In the shifting digital landscape, society is growing its reliance on services and access. It is driving a much greater need for more trust in technology and specifically understanding whom we are really interacting with. The challenge will be to find the balance necessary to protect and secure sensitive transactions while still preserving instances where privacy is desirable. In the end, we want a trustworthy world where we have liberty, security, and privacy.

Image Source: Herb Kelsey's LinkedIn Blog https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/high-trust-business-models-chain-identity-missing-element-herb-kelsey/