Many of the problems on the Internet today, from phishing attacks to inconsistent user experiences, come from the patchwork nature of digital identity solutions that software makers have built in the absence of a unifying and architected system of digital identity. An identity metasystem, as defined by the Laws of Identity, supplies a unifying fabric of digital identity, uses existing and future identity systems, provides interoperability between them, and enables the creation of a consistent and straightforward user interface to them all. Basing our efforts on the Laws of Identity, Microsoft is working with others in the industry to build the identity metasystem using published WS-* protocols that render Microsoft’s implementations fully interoperable with those produced by others.

CardSpace is Microsoft’s implementation of an Identity Metasystem that enables users to choose from a portfolio of identities that belong to them and use them in contexts where they are accepted, independent of the underlying identity systems where the identities originate and are used.

Using CardSpace, many of the dangers, complications, annoyances, and uncertainties of today’s online experiences can be a thing of the past. Widespread deployment of the identity metasystem has the potential to solve many of these issues, benefiting everyone and accelerating the long-term growth of connectivity by making the online world safer, more trustworthy, and easier to use.

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