White House Announces National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace
White house cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt has announced the NSTIC, the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. The initiative is a blend of federated identities combined with government (or trusted third party)- issued digital identities (primarily in the form of digital certificates).
I do think that a national federated identity scheme requires strong authentication, at least for any site that can do transactions or reveal personal information (which is pretty much any site of value). I also think that the Federal government is one of the only hopes we have of achieving such a system, as it will require a big infusion of cash.
However, I am skeptical that this plan can be achieved, given the diverse interests of the private sector and the federal government agencies, and the myriad of agendas and technological approaches. Look, Microsoft has failed at this many times, and they control 90%+ of the computer desktops out there.