Korean Identity Management(KIM)

title; 'Digital ID Purse' to Debut
link; http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2007/05/133_2356.html

ETRI is going to research about new type of digital identity purse system with Microsoft.

Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft, the world's foremost maker of software.

It seem like a MS CardSpace, but detailed functions are very different.

ETRI also hopes the identification tool will do away with concerns on the leakage of personal data like resident registration numbers, the Korean equivalent to the U.S. social security numbers. The resident registration number, composed of 13 digits, contains a lot of personal information including birth data, gender and first registration region. Most domestic Web sites ask for the resident numbers for new subscribers.

The leakage and illegal usage of the information-packed numbers have made identity theft one of the fastest-growing crimes in Korea.

We will develop two version; MS version and open-platform version.

However, the digital identification purse may generate fresh security troubles. For example, it would be disastrous should unscrupulous criminals steal the purse, the key to all personal data.

``We understand there can be worries on the security of the digital purse especially when they are in the wrong hands,'' Chong said. ``We are developing a solution that makes the software work for only its legitimate users.''