Title: Overview on IMS DEFINITION OF TYPES OF IMS

Definition of Types of IMS

Using the understanding and the definitions established within the FIDIS Network (Workpackage 2, Deliverable 2.1 “Inventory of topics and clusters” and Wiki definitions), we understand Identity Management as the management of digital identities or digital identity data. There are several approaches which differ, e.g.:

1. In the procedure of management (by whom? which operations on data possible?)  

2. In the type of managed data (personal or organisational data? comprehensive profiles or selection of roles or partial identities? privacy or identifiability?).  

Taking a look at the market of existing IMS, on prototypes, concepts and IM-related tools we observe three main types of IMS: 

1. Type 1: IMS for account management, ,

2. Type 2: IMS for profiling of user data by an organisation,,

3. Type 3: IMS for user-controlled context-dependent role and pseudonym management [ICP03]. 

Identity management systems of type 1 and 2 are mainly used by organisations (institutions, enterprises etc.), especially bigger ones. The approach to use and to manage them is basically a centralised; administration usually is done by selected administrators or operators and not by the user her- or himself. As a result, we find mainly commercial implementations of those types of IMS. The data managed are personal as well as organisational, depending on the environment and purpose in or for which the IMS is used. Reliable identification of persons or reliable assignment of the profile to a person is usually the main focus of those systems, not privacy. 

Type 1 IMS were originally defined as account management systems, used within an organisation especially for account and access administration for computers and network services (e.g. the Windows-NT-Domain-concept by Microsoft, NIS by SUN etc.). Today directory services are used, storing personal data for extended use, e.g. in the environment of human resource management (e.g. Microsoft Active Directory together with Microsoft Exchange and SAP HR).  

Type 2 IMS will be the subject of Deliverable 7.2 (Inventory on actual profiling techniques and practices) and will therefore not being discussed in depth in this document.  

Type 3 IMS are characterised by the user control as basically decentralised, user and client-orientated (Management by whom? management done by the user). The data managed are mainly personal data. Privacy protection therefore is a driving force for the development of IMS of this type and a relevant unique selling proposition (USP). To implement certain functions, such as use of trusted pseudonyms or authentication (e.g. via credentials), in some cases the implementation of centralised third party services is necessary. In addition the communication partner of the user, who is contacted via the managed identity, in many cases is an organisation.  

Examining more closely the market of type 3 IMS, we find many partial solutions. They are mainly client-side tools and applications. We find them mostly developed outside the commercial sector (open source, freeware, research and development within public projects and universities).