User Identifiers

Noted. Stefan Brands has written about the nature of user identification. From his article A primer on user identification - Part 1 of 4:

In order to fully appreciate how digital identity management relates to privacy and security, especially in federated contexts, it is essential to analyze one of the core building blocks of any identity management architecture: user identifiers. ...

An identifier is a piece of information that names or indicates a person, a device, a process, a resource, or any other type of entity. User identifiers are identifiers for use by individuals or groups of individuals. They may be presented verbally, on paper, on plastic cards, by user-held computerized devices, or in any other appropriate manner. Electronic user identifiers are electronically presented over data communication channels by user-held chip-based devices. ...

The four part essay can be found in:

Part 1: http://www.idcorner.org/index.php?p=32

Part 2: http://www.idcorner.org/index.php?p=33

Part 3: http://www.idcorner.org/index.php?p=37

Part 4: http://www.idcorner.org/index.php?p=39 [Updated: Feb 28]