Privacy Enhancing Technologies: the path to anonymity 

(Revised Edition)

At the present time, an individual is required to reveal his identity when engaging in a wide range of activities. Every time he uses a credit card, makes a telephone call, pays his taxes, subscribes to a magazine, or buys something at the grocery store using a credit or debit card, an identifiable record of each transaction is created and recorded in a computer database somewhere.

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In order to obtain a service or make a purchase (using something other than cash), organizations require that you identify yourself. This practice is so strong that it is simply treated as a given, an individual's identity must be collected and recorded in association with services rendered or purchases made. But must this always be the case? Are there no situations where transactions may be conducted anonymously, yet securely? We believe that there are, and will outline a number of methods and technologies by which anonymous yet authentic transactions may be conducted.

Contents

  • Part 1 Summary
  • Part 2 Privacy-enhancing Technologies: the path to anonymity
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Information systems and identity use
  • 3 Identity domains
  • 4 Implementation techniques
    • Appendix A Calling Line Identification (CLI)
    • Appendix B Provision of medical data
    • Appendix C Road-pricing
    • Appendix D Digital cash
    • Appendix E Access control with biometric identification
    • Literature

Citation
Hes, R., Borking, J., Privacy Enhancing Technologies: the path to anonymity (Revised Edition) Dutch DPA, September 1998. Background studies & Investigations 11