A government-funded research project will be launched in October
to help develop the next generation of
secure identity management systems.
The Home Office
estimates that the cost of identity theft to the UK economy is
£1.7bn a year.
The new research will see experts at
Cranfield University,
Royal Holloway University of
London, Salford
University, Consult Hyperion
and Sunderland City
Council teaming up on a three-year project.
The consortium will investigate topics of privacy and consent
for identity management, with the aim of helping people and
organisations make well-informed judgements about their choice of
online services, how they use them, and what information they give
out.
Cranfield University lead researcher Debi Ashenden, said, "There
is a concern that people aren't really clear about the value of
their unique identity.
"Our research will engage people in current debates about
privacy and consent issues, find out how they think about their
identity and what decisions they make. We hope the discussions will
provide invaluable information to help develop new identity
management tools."
The project, titled Vome (Visualisation and Other Methods of
Expression), is part of a £5.5m investment by the
Technology Strategy Board,
Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and
Economic
and Social Research Council (ESRC).
This investment will also fund two other projects looking into
different aspects of identity protection.
Commenting on the Technology Strategy Board's support for the
project, Andrew Tyrer, who leads the organisation's network
security innovation platform, said, "Governments and businesses
around the world will make substantial investments in identity
management infrastructures over the next few years.
"These procurements will need to inspire public confidence that
issues around improving privacy and enabling informed consent have
been fully integrated. This research will be key to ensuring that
the hardware and software required will meet public expectations
about these important issues."
The project results are due to be published in September
2011.
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