Handy future for online security

Will the Quizid card provide solution to digital identity?

A credit-card sized device, which could potentially be issued to thousands of citizens, is being heralded as a major breakthrough in the search for establishing secure identification on the internet.

Currently buying something on the net, using banking or government services requires users to enter a password and username that are potentially insecure.

Ideally banks and the government want a universal system for proving identity online - the cyber equivalent of the passport - which is trusted by consumers and commercial organisations alike.

Peter Newport, chief executive of the UK company Quizid Technologies, believes he may have found the solution.

Simple and cost effective

Launching the Quizid card at the House of Commons in London, he heralded it as a new era in digital authentication.

Without an architecture of trust more sophisticated than a Pin or password, the UK is definitely not in danger of becoming a first-world knowledge-based economy

Dr Simon Moores, Security Analyst

"There has been some serious problems facing UK businesses, banks and the government and we wanted to do something about it," he said.

"This is a simple, cost-effective solution that is suitable for the mass market," he added.

Users are issued with a card and a personal code, based on a set of colour keys on the card. Each time they wish to conduct a secure transaction, they punch in the colour code and a random number is generated.

The card works in conjunction with the Quizid vault - a large collection of computers that can process 600 authentications per second. The system cost millions of pounds to develop.

According to Mr Newport, it offers "military levels of security".

Sausages

The simplicity and low cost of the card could make it an ideal solution for digital authentication, thinks Richard Barrington, director of industry at the government's Office of the e-Envoy.

Who are you when you are online?

Offering a surprisingly frank personal view of e-government achievements he summed up efforts to date as "all sausage and no sizzle".

"My personal opinion is that the main problem is that we have become fixated with technology to solve all problems from engaging citizens in the political process to improving service in the NHS," he said.

"User names and passwords go some way to identifying me but I have so many tokens identifying me to so many people."

"We need a simple, consumer-orientated portable device that increases levels of confidence," he said.

He admitted that government had so far failed to crack the problem of digital identity.

"Everyone is struggling with these issues and the UK is no better or worse off than any other country in the world," he said.

Security analyst Dr Simon Moores warned that without a solution to the problem of digital authentication the government could forget its aim to become a leading knowledge-based economy.

"Without an architecture of trust more sophisticated than a Pin or password, the UK is definitely not in danger of becoming a first-world knowledge-based economy," he said.

Privacy concerns

In the past, security experts have pointed out that any system relying on a third person will have problems and that often these lie in the implementation rather than the technology.

It has been suggested that smart cards could be utilised for digital identities although privacy groups have been concerned about how large databases of information on citizens will be used.

Quizid is currently in talks with major high street banks and building societies to act as distributors of the card.

It will cost companies between £10 and £70 a year per user, depending on the number of users they have.

Once customers have been issued with one card, other companies and services can be added to the same device.

Quizid hopes to sell half a million cards in the first year.

It is unlikely the government itself will issue cards to citizens, although early talks with Quizid suggest it would be willing to foot some of the bill.