The Information Card Ecosystem: The Fundamental Leap From Cookies & Passwords to Cards & Selectors

The emergence of a long-awaited digital identity layer for the Internet means the evolution from an identity model based on one-dimensional cookies and passwords to a new model based on two-dimensional Information Cards. These user-authorized packages of identity data are controlled and managed by a new software tool called a selector. The card/selector model gives rise to a new identity ecosystem of card providing sites (identity providers) and accepting sites (relying parties). It also ushers in a new capability - cross-site context sensitivity - that will quickly become an essential feature of next-generation browsing. The paper concludes by looking at the next steps in the evolution of this ecosystem, particularly how it will integrate and adapt to multiple identity protocols.