[cap-talk] Definition of Authentication on wiki.erights.org

[Rob Meijer]

On Fri, September 11, 2009 08:17, Matej Kosik wrote:
> If all other properties we have in mind (citizenship, role, ...) can be
> derived from identity, why do we need to mention all those properties in
> the definition and thus making it more complicated? (and less precise
> because everytime some new principal's property appears, we would have
> to update the definition)


The problem is that identity may or may not be communicated. It is quite
possible to authenticate for example a role or a label without disclosing
identity.

In one of my presentations I mention a uniform as a possible property that
can be validated in order to authenticate a law enforcement officer
without any communication of the identity of this officer. A uniform may
not be the most reliable authentication tool, but it is an authentication
tool nonetheless.

Rob