Identity Issues - Identity Cards and Personal Security

Dr. Iain Sutherland, Senior Lecturer, University of Glamorgan

Iain is a member of the Information Security Research Group and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Advanced Technology (Dept of Computer Systems Engineering) at the University of Glamorgan. He has been involved in a variety of research projects in the area of information security including secure XML transactions and reverse engineering metrics.

Dr. Sutherland’s main field of interest is computer forensics. He currently maintains Glamorgan University’s Forensics Computing Laboratory, and has acted as a consultant and Expert Witness on civil and criminal cases. He will be speaking on Security of Voice over IP at NISC 8 (16 – 18 May 2007, St Andrews)

The fields of computer forensics and identity management have grown closer out of necessity – partly through the sharing of common objectives. Whilst forensics is a particular speciality of our speaker, he is also a member of the Information Security Research Group at the University of Glamorgan, whose areas of research also include other topical security issues as intrusion detection and computer evidence visualisation.

From the public’s point-of-view the most visible evidence of the response to the threats from identity theft are massive increases in the sales of paper shredders and (certainly in view of recent adverse publicity) the possibility of wanting to switch bank, the minefield that is identity management in 2007 is one that will bear closer consideration.

Little more than 12 months ago, the issue was whether UK citizens would want an ID card. The bigger question now is whether a solution can be found that can categorically establish that anyone is who they say they are.