ELECTRONIC IDENTITY MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TRUSTWORTHY SERVICES IN E- GOVERNMENT AND E- COMMERCE Alberto Polzonetti, Damiano Falcioni, Fausto Marcantoni School of Science and Technology University of Camerino (Italy) Name.surname@unicam.it Abstract - A number of potential initiatives are being considered including the creation of a international electronic identity management infrastructure for trustworthy services in e- government and e-commerce. A lot of work has been done in recent years in the field of electronic identity management, including through a series of research programs and pilot projects. While each of these projects contributes new elements to the field of electronic identity management, it is also clear that the results will need to be developed further, refined and integrated. This paper would open the discussion on the need for a “multi-faceted electronic Identification (eID) system for all citizens", as a key enabler for trustworthy interactions between public authorities, businesses, citizens, and within the large spectrum of social networks and communities. This concept, which is also referred to as an ubiquitous eID infrastructure for digital life, is envisaged to offer a wide range of functionalities, including the provision of multiple identity instances, from government- accredited to commercially accepted, and ranging from near-anonymity to strong and unambiguous identification. Furthermore, the system should be user- controlled and privacy- protective, providing the basis for accountability and innovative applications in an open and competitive market. Keywords: Electronic Identity Management, e-government, e-commerce 1 Introduction International eIDM ambitions are thus high, and it is not yet fully clear how existing initiatives and projects can be integrated into a common vision, or what framework would be needed from a technical, infrastructural, organizational and legal. There is a need for discussions and consultations to determine exactly what can be expected from a eIDM infrastructure, what the approach and goals should be, and which steps need to be taken next to realize this vision. The actual debate stresses the need for all states to increase its performance when it comes to the use of innovative ICT solutions, especially in the public sector. In a European context, for example, this emphasis on appropriate public policy is justified, due to the public sector’s larger stake in GDP than in other regions of the world. To increase the use of innovative ICT solutions, three interlinked lines of action are proposed : - Improving the quality and coherence of our investment efforts, as there is currently too much fragmentation which dilutes the efficiency of our investments; - Raising investment in research and innovation, including through public procurements; - Stimulating the demand for R&D, by opening up new markets for R&D to respond to real needs and challenges. A set of measures for the public sector to achieve these goals will be proposed, including large scale actions that go from research to actual procurement and deployment, to ensure that R&D investments have a real impact in practice. This can build on existing building blocks that have already been used in Europe, such as Large Scale Pilots, Public- Private Partnerships and pre-commercial procurement of R&D. One of these areas in which this approach will be applied is the deployment of innovative eID solutions. 2 Needs And Objectives After these introductory remarks and considerations, in this chapter we speak about on the needs and objectives of a eIDM system: what is it that we expect of something termed a “ubiquitous eIDM system for digital life”? What will the expected/desired impact be, and how far do we want to go? After the development of basic internet services, service paradigms have moved on to web 2.0 services and are now shifting towards a cloud computing model. In this model, eID is often seen as one element of web services that needs to be able to integrate smoothly with other services. If this is to work in practice, a great deal of flexibility will be expected of the underlying eID infrastructure.