Equifax Over 18 I-Card proves you're old enough
Credit rating agency Equifax has introduced a way to prove that you're over 18 on the Internet.
On Thursday, the company launched a beta version of its first Information Card product, called the Over 18 I-Card. The card, really a digital token that can be stored online or on a user's computer, demonstrates how an I-Card can solve one of the Internet's thorny problems: how can you know someone is what they claim to be on the Internet?
Equifax's service is part of an emerging digital ID standard that could operate like a drivers license or a passport on the Internet, doing away with usernames and passwords.
Technology companies have talked about creating this kind of a unified digital ID standard for years, but, to date, nothing has taken off. However, the non-profit Information Card Foundation, launched in June has some big-league backers including Equifax, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, and PayPal.
Equifax, one of the top three consumer credit reporting agencies in the U.S., sees itself as the "defacto verification service" for Information Cards, said Steve Ely, president of Equifax Personal Information Solutions.
Users must undergo a rigorous process to prove that they are who they claim to be, before they're issued an Equifax I-Card, but once they have it, they can use it to log into Web sites without having to remember usernames or passwords. Information Cards are stored in digital ID wallets such as the Windows CardSpace or the online Azigo service.
Ely says the point of the new Equifax I-Card isn't really to attract consumers -- there aren't even any sites that you could log onto with it right now. But he hopes that Web operators will see its value and support it, before the company makes a marketing push toward consumers. "We want to attract interest of online merchants and online Web sites that see the value of adopting these online I-cards."
Equifax has launched a demonstration adults-only Web site to show how the technology would be used.
Merchants will want to support I-cards because it will make logging-in easier for customers, and it may also cut down on fraud, Ely said. "Fraudsters are always trying to come in and get around their system, create a synthetic identity and do something bad on their Web site," he said. "They're very keenly interested in preventing fraud"
IDG News Service
Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world
On Twitter now
authentication
Powered by TwitterOn Twitter now
authentication
Brian Proffitt
Microsoft/Novell: Breaking Down the Coupon Numbers
Esther Schindler
Drupal's Dries Buytaert on Building the Next Drupal
Tom Henderson
Top Ten General Operating Systems Rants
pasmith
PS3 motion controller delayed; goes up against Project Natal
sjvn
Neolithic Windows security hole alive and well in Windows 7
claird
Perl source code comparison makes for good reading
James Gaskin
Learn How To Print Pages In Order with Ink Jet Printers
mikelgan
Cell phones don't create stress or interrupt much
Sandra Henry-Stocker
How to: The Unix Interview
Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann
Join the conversation here
Quick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.
- Ubuntu advances: Why Ubuntu server installations will surge in 2010
- Social media marketing: How to make friends with benefits
- More...
Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.






