Privacy-preserving identity transactions online : the use case of brokered identity federations
Name
1252064702-MIT.pdf
Size
2.61 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e788c98259be6eb31aa9f1a98ff1c9e9
Author(s)
Shahid, Maryam,S.M.Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Advisor(s)
David Clark and Karen Sollins.
Date Issued
2021
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Disinformation campaigns, created by fake accounts on online community platforms, have grown into one of the biggest threats against democracy, freedom and user perception of the truth. This thesis argues that mitigating this abuse and establishing trust online does not necessitate exposing identifying information about users on such platforms. Examples of identity mechanisms used by current platforms to curb this bad behaviour are included in the thesis to showcase the gaps in current schemes. There is a need to remodel the flow of identity transactions to cater to both anonymity and accountability considerations. To that extent, this thesis presents a use case of Brokered Identity Federations as a means to implement a one-time blind proof-of-existence that establishes a real-person is behind an account without revealing any excess identifiable information. The proposed architecture incorporates proof-of-existence by leveraging and re-purposing already existing enterprises, amongst whom identity interactions are divided, to maintain user anonymity while ensuring accountability in terms of limiting mass account creation. Lastly, the thesis discusses key considerations to take into account before the proposed architecture can be successfully realized.
Description
Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program, February, 2021
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, February, 2021
Cataloged from the official PDF of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-106).
Subjects
Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.
Technology and Policy Program.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Technology and Policy Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
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