In its bid to boost web security in the US, the Barack Obama administration is working out a plan to issue American computer users with an internet identity, a media report said Monday.
In its bid to boost web security in the US, the Barack Obama administration is working out a plan to issue American computer users with an internet identity, a media report said Monday.
Obama has put the US Commerce Department in charge of the cybersecurity initiative, the Daily Mail reported.
The Obama administration is drafting a paper called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities, which investigates ways that web users can protect their online identities.
But Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that it should not be mistaken as national identity card.
"We are not talking about a national ID card," he said at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
"We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorise a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities," he added.
He said the Commerce Department is setting up a national programme to work on the project.
Possible methods of creating a "trusted identity" could include issuing a "smart card" or digital certificates that would prove that online users are who they say they are. They could then be used to buy goods and carry out financial transactions on the internet, the report said.
White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said the move does not mean that anonymity will be compromised.
"I don't have to get a credential if I don't want to," he said.
There's no chance that "a centralised database will emerge", and "we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this", he added, according to CNET website.
周一有媒体报道说，为了增强美国的网络安全，奥巴马政府正在制定计划，给美国的电脑用户发放网络身份证。
据《每日邮报》报道，奥巴马已经指示美国商务部着手进行这项网络安全计划。
奥巴马政府正在制定一份名为《可信身份国策》的草案，这份草案探究了网络用户可以通过哪些方式来保护他们的网上身份。
美国商务部长骆家辉请人们不要混淆网络身份证和国民身份证。
他在斯坦福大学经济政策研究中心说：“我们所说的不是国民身份证。”
他说：“我们并不是在讨论一个政府控制的系统，而是在讨论如何提高网上安全度和更好地保护隐私，以及如何通过创建和应用更多可信的数码身份来减少、甚至消除网民记一大堆密码的烦恼。”
他说商务部正在筹建一个国家级项目来进行这项工作。
该报道说，为了创建“可信身份”，政府可能会推出智能身份证或数码证书以证明网民的真实身份。这些证件还可用来进行网上购物或者金融交易。
白宫网络安全协调员霍华德•施密特说该举措并不意味着网民的匿名性会受到影响。
他说：“如果本人不愿意，可以不进行身份认证。”
据科技资讯网报道，施密特还说，他们绝不会“设中央数据库”，而且他们“需要私营机构来领导实施这项工作”。