The International Chamber of Commerce, through its initiative Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS), today co-sponsored a workshop on how to improve Internet security with the Oxford Internet Institute at the 2nd Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro.

With a special emphasis on authentication at the transaction level, the workshop outlined key activities and progress on technical solutions, policy recommendations, capacity building and best practices.

The diverse range of participant perspectives and the interactive aspects of the workshop ensured a balanced dialogue.

“Authentication and ID management are important to every online transaction today and will only be gaining in importance as Internet transactions of all types continue to evolve,” said Tom Dailey, General Counsel of Verizon Online, who moderated the session. “The authentication issues transcend all consumer and business transactions as well as government needs for security and identification management.”

Issues explored during the workshop included:

• What is the current state of authentication/ID management systems? Where are they heading and what are the key technological and policy barriers to getting there?
• How can we promote consumer confidence in authentication/ID management systems and thereby enhance consumer confidence in the Internet?
• Can authentication/ID management be used to promote social policies such as age verification and the protection of children online?
• Do consumer protection laws provide an adequate check on “bad actors” and what role does privacy regulation play in the debate?
• How do you design policy and regulatory approaches regarding authentication/ID management that don’t punish “good actors” by imposing high costs and liability?

In his remarks at the workshop, ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban emphasized the importance of security issues. “Security is a fundamental issue for all of us − security of the networks and security of information. These issues are critical to business as increasingly, companies’ information assets are equal to their financial assets. Security aspects are present in everything any person and any organization undertake in the information society.”

The panellists at the workshop were Caspar Bowden, Chief Privacy Advisor EMEA, Microsoft, United Kingdom; Simon Davies, Founder & Director, Privacy International; Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics, United Kingdom; and Dr Gulshan Rai, Executive Director, ERNET.
 

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