Reply to post: Re: Who are these people?

FIDO Alliance says it has finally killed the password

Doctor Syntax Silver badge

Re: Who are these people?

Very simply put, you create an account with SomeOrg and agree with SomeOrg that "this magic token" is associated with that account. The token itself doesn't identify you

It's normal practice when you create an account to use an identity to do that. These days banks are very careful about establishing identity to cope with money-laundering legislation (unless, of course, you're handling sufficient funds to make money laundering worthwhile if not the object of the operation in which case the bank will be delighted to give you an account in the name of any off-shre shell company you choose).

Where was I? Ah, yes. Account. Identity. No, the token itself doesn't identify you. But the token is associated with account so we have Token > Account > Identity. That's what I'd call indirect addressing. For some purposes it might be enough or, depending on the purpose, too much.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon