RE: [projectvrm] IBM's Identity Mixer

[Kazue Sako < >]

Andy,

>(Kazue, please correct me if I got anything wrong.  :)  )

You've got it totally right.

> Now I want to take an attestation from vendor A that I pay my bills on time 
> and show it to vendor B (without A and B being able to compare records and 
> see that I'm the same person).

Just to clarify this part, B knows that I'm someone that pay my bills on time 
for A, but B (nor A, even if A and B colluded) would not know exactly who I 
am in A's record.

Les,

> It would be ideal if this started from your own personally controlled 
> database aka a personal cloud.

Indeed! 

>For example, yes i am over 21years old or yes i have a history of paying my 
>bills on time.

The scheme ensures that what my personal cloud says is not a makeup but is 
indeed backed-up by some authority. (for example, Bill part is ensured/signed 
by A.)

Yet if both A and B know my cloud name, that may be the information to link 
my record in A and B. That part need to be covered somehow.

=Kazue


-----Original Message-----
From: Chasen, Les 
[mailto:
 ]
 
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2015 1:05 AM
To: Andy Jennings; Sako Kazue(佐古 和恵)
Cc: Doc Searls; Dan Miller; ProjectVRM list
Subject: Re: [projectvrm] IBM's Identity Mixer

It would be ideal if this started from your own personally controlled 
database aka a personal cloud.  One of the many great use cases is the 
ability for a vendor (or any entity) to ask a question and for you, via your 
personal cloud, to respond with a validated answer.  For example, yes i am 
over 21years old or yes i have a history of paying my bills on time.

From: Andy Jennings 
<
 >
Date: Sunday, February 1, 2015 at 3:34 AM
To: Kazue Sako 
<
 >
Cc: Doc Searls 
<
 >,
 Dan Miller 
<
 >,
 ProjectVRM list 
<
 >
Subject: Re: [projectvrm] IBM's Identity Mixer



        I convened a session on this stuff at the last IIW 
(http://iiw.idcommons.net/The_State_of_Anonymous_Credentials_%28discussion%29 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__iiw.idcommons.net_The-5FState-5Fof-5FAnonymous-5FCredentials-5F-2528discussion-2529&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=9OcKXkn7p_uRIxldwmqXvxf2YTxt5_H_u3p7xm3NQEE&e=>
 )
        
        Here is my take on Identity Mixer:  It is the real thing, not 
marketing fluff.  Real working code and real cryptography.  A great fit for 
the VRM community.
        
        
        Suppose I want the ability to interact with vendor A anonymously.  
Public-key cryptography can give me that.  I also want to interact with 
vendor B anonymously, but I don't want A and B to be able to compare records 
and see that I'm the same person, so I use a different key pair when I'm 
dealing with vendor B.  Now I want to take an attestation from vendor A that 
I pay my bills on time and show it to vendor B (without A and B being able to 
compare records and see that I'm the same person).  This is impossible with 
vanilla PKP.
        
        
        I could pass an attestation through some trusted central authority to 
anonymize it.  (I believe there are people creating such central authorities 
in the VRM community already.)
        
        
        Or I can use "pseudonymous cryptography" to do it without a central 
authority.  Brilliant!  Cryptographers like Kazue and Anna Lysyanskaya are 
working on the cryptography for this.  IBM's Identity Mixer and Microsoft's 
uProve are frameworks to implement this cryptography.
        
        
        The problem is that organizations have no incentive to use 
pseudonymous cryptography.  They know who all their employees and their 
customers are.  And if they need some interactions to be anonymous, it's much 
easier to go the "anonymity through a trusted central authority" route.  Who 
is the central authority?  They are, of course!
        
        
        So Identity Mixer and uProve are not getting much implementation.  
There's not much demand for them from businesses.
        
        
        To be useful, this stuff needs to be put into software or hardware 
that is used by the masses (if it's not too complicated for them).  Web 
browsers?  Ubikeys?  Bitcoin wallets?  VRM agents?
        
        
        But I do think it is the future of the VRM movement...
        

        ~ Andy
        
        
        (Kazue, please correct me if I got anything wrong.  :)  )
        


        On Sat, Jan 31, 2015 at 4:46 PM, Kazue Sako 
<
 >
 wrote:
        

                Doc, this is what I (as cryptographer) had worked for many 
years and would be great if the idea is enhanced here.
                
                The cryptograpic algorithm is developed to enpower 
individuals, but as we need to motivate industry we often emphasize companies 
merits.
                
                I'm happy to explain more in detail from my computer perhaps 
tommorrow. Currently I only have a mobile phone but I couldnot stop myself 
from speaking up!
                
                =Kazue
                Kazue Sako
                Sent via Mobile Portal
                

                >Here is the original:
                >
                ><http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=17881 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.net-2Dsecurity.org_secworld.php-3Fid-3D17881&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=2wl3NxZSCyiPfDMNEzZ4aWeKkMsPjQHDW1zq9dLYk-4&e=>
 >
                >
                >Comments inline below...
                >
                >> IBM's sophisticated cryptographic algorithm protects your 
identity
                >> Posted on 28 January 2015.
                >>
                >> IBM researchers revealed plans for a cloud-based 
technology,
                >
                >Speaking personally, I don't want my identity in anybody's 
cloud other than my own. I don't mind companies authenticating me, or 
attesting to some of my credentials. But from the start I've had a problem 
with the notion that somebody other than me is an "identity provider," aka 
IDP. Just saying.
                >
                >> called Identity Mixer, that uses a cryptographic algorithm 
to encrypt the certified identity attributes of a user, such as their age, 
nationality, address and credit card number in a way that allows the user to 
reveal only selected pieces to third parties.
                >
                >Selective disclosure has always been good.
                >
                >> Identity Mixer can be used within a digital wallet, which 
contains credentials certified by a trusted third party, such as a 
government-issued electronic identity card. It’s important to note that the 
issuer of the credentials has no knowledge of how and when they are being 
used.
                >
                >That's good, but wallets should be personal. We haven't seen 
a personal wallet yet. And we need one. More on that, in reverse chron order:
                >
                
><http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2015/01/27/maybe-wallets-cant-be-apps/ 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blogs.law.harvard.edu_doc_2015_01_27_maybe-2Dwallets-2Dcant-2Dbe-2Dapps_&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=KecwPMmSUfKQWOljL_aFGt6CHaUt7sMfzeHNFpjcHNE&e=>
 >
                
><http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/2011/08/28/circling-around-your-wallet/ 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blogs.law.harvard.edu_vrm_2011_08_28_circling-2Daround-2Dyour-2Dwallet_&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=aaqiwbA9fTNxt6stAvpe1h9nHmdYSpTKRYWtHbn78bo&e=>
 >
                
><http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/2011/05/27/googles-wallet-and-vrm/ 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__blogs.law.harvard.edu_vrm_2011_05_27_googles-2Dwallet-2Dand-2Dvrm_&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=aRkNmfb-WlZW-Vnq4-wA-646bycCJSvSmXiDWPR1ICU&e=>
 >
                >
                >> “Identity Mixer enables users to choose precisely which 
data to share, and with whom”, said Christina Peters, IBM’s Chief Privacy 
Officer. “Now web service providers can improve their risk profile and 
enhance trust with customers, and it’s all in the cloud, making it easy for 
developers to program.”
                >
                >Note that this is about service providers, rather than 
individuals. So it still sounds like it's on the administrative side of the 
administrative/sovereign divide.
                >
                >But ... could be it's not. I do believe there are identity 
services that do not require storing one's personal stuff, or credentials, 
outside one's zone of control.
                >
                >> According to comScore, the average person spends nearly 25 
hours per month using the Internet, accessing dozens of different Internet 
services, including banking, shopping and social networks. For virtually 
every service, users have to create a personal profile with a username and 
password ? or for stronger security ? cryptographic certificates. Although 
such tools can offer sufficient security for many purposes, they do not 
typically provide any level of privacy for the users, causing them to reveal 
more personal data than is necessary, which can be costly if it falls into 
the wrong hands.
                >
                >That's one problem. Another is that the individual has no 
one way to deal with all of those different service providers. There are as 
many different systems as providers, and one cannot scale across all of them 
in a single way.
                >
                >> “We wanted individuals to have control over what they 
reveal about themselves,”said, Dr. Anna Lysyanskaya, a co-inventor of 
Identity Mixer, who is currently a professor of computer science at Brown 
University. “With Identity Mixer now in the cloud, developers have a very 
strong cryptographic tool that makes privacy practical; it is a piece of 
software that you can incorporate into any identity management service 
enabling the service to verify that an individual is an authorized user 
without revealing any other personal information."
                >
                >Again, meat for from vendors, with some gravy for the 
individual. Do I have that right?
                >
                >> European and Australian pilot programs demonstrate 
Identity Mixer potential
                >>
                >> To demonstrate the new cloud version of Identity Mixer, 
IBM scientists are collaborating with academic and industrial partners in 
Europe and Australia in a new pilot project called Authentication and 
Authorization for Entrusted Unions (AU2EU). In a two-year, 8.6-million euro 
pilot, scientists will test Identity Mixer in two scenarios: in Germany with 
the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK, or the German Red Cross), and with the 
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 
Australia’s national science agency.
                >>
                >> As a major provider for regional home emergency call and 
social services in Germany, the DRK delivers tailored social care services to 
their customers 24/7, including emergency services, assisted mobility, 
housekeeping and nursing assistance. The organization has four million 
volunteers and professional staff, 52 hospitals and more than 500 nursing 
homes operated worldwide.
                >>
                >> In the AU2EU pilot, 20 DRK test participants in the 
southwest of Germany will be equipped with sensors for in-home activity and 
status monitoring. The data gathered from these sensors will be transferred 
to a dedicated cloud server, where the data will be analyzed to determine the 
type of assistance required. In addition, DRK field representatives will be 
provided with a mobile device to collect and register sensitive customer 
data, such as medical records, medication and family contacts, to establish a 
service contract. Identity Mixer will be used to keep all of this data 
confidential and private. The technology will be implemented by NEC Europe 
and Tunstall Healthcare.
                >>
                >> A second pilot will support one of the keys to Australia’s 
agricultural productivity and related export trade: its freedom from exotic 
diseases, particularly in animals. To maintain the nation’s disease-free 
status, the Australian government, along with key partners, has developed an 
emergency rapid response plan to take action quickly before an outbreak 
spreads. This plan involves swiftly bringing together government, academic 
and other research organizations, along with industry partners into a secure, 
trustworthy online collaborative environment that facilitates evidence-based 
decision making. Using Identity Mixer, the pilot will help facilitate the 
secure sharing of sensitive information in a timely matter across several 
remote locations and among collaborating partners.
                >
                >Why not try to partner with startups (or mature companies) 
here? Would anybody here be interested in that?
                >
                >Doc
                >
                >
                >> On Jan 30, 2015, at 2:44 PM, Dan Miller 
<
 >
 wrote:
                >>
                >> 
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s52/sh/b5f6c04e-dcb8-4dc3-afa4-99f6844751a9/d975dc8e83de6c2430be9b02282de65e
 
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.evernote.com_shard_s52_sh_b5f6c04e-2Ddcb8-2D4dc3-2Dafa4-2D99f6844751a9_d975dc8e83de6c2430be9b02282de65e&d=AwMFaQ&c=MOptNlVtIETeDALC_lULrw&r=GmIkFYB5mJUePL-AjY1Dc16uEHcEGn7VgNAWW67Dwz0&m=JU5pwwEbXJz85yolZ3CNMpt3tuB5HtahVcLOVq5eEdE&s=739_KJoVIFCbLvjObbKrdmLm-KwbDecjK9y6IgteqdQ&e=>
 
                >>
                >> I'm not sure what to make of this. It's all geek to me, 
but IBM's research is using a "cryptographic algorithm" to make it possible 
for me to protect my privacy.
                >>
                >> To wit:
                >>
                >> “We wanted individuals to have control over what they 
reveal about themselves,”said, Dr. Anna Lysyanskaya, a co-inventor of 
Identity Mixer, who is currently a professor of computer science at Brown 
University. “With Identity Mixer now in the cloud, developers have a very 
strong cryptographic tool that makes privacy practical; it is a piece of 
software that you can incorporate into any identity management service 
enabling the service to verify that an individual is an authorized user 
without revealing any other personal information."