Federated ID must win over happy shoppers

Businesses championing the benefits of federated identity have their work cut out to win over the hearts and minds of consumers, without which the clearing of other hurdles such as technological and legal challenges will be irrelevant.

The majority of consumers are currently opposed to the idea of organisations sharing their personal data and authenticating against one another in order to offer joined-up services, according to YouGov research released exclusively to silicon.com.

But there is some cause for optimism with a groundswell of approval for the idea. The research found 37 per cent of respondents said fewer log-ins and an ability to move seamlessly across different services would be a good thing in theory. However, when asked whether they would be happy with organisations sharing their personal data in order to make this happen, the approval rating went down to 21 per cent.

But Simon Perry, VP security strategy at CA, who commissioned the research, said this is far from a rejection of federation. Perry said while the discussion is around security there is likely to be more wariness and the system will undoubtedly win more support once the message of ease and convenience are publicised more effectively.

"While there is still technical work to be done, there's a lot more work to do getting the consumers onside," he said.

Perry said the technology is almost 'ready for prime time' but the audience may not yet be ready to receive it.

"Many companies haven't realised the amount of work they have to do on the business and marketing side. If they look just at technical and business partnerships they will fail," said Perry.

The fickle and uninformed nature of consumers may also help to pave the way for successful federation roll-outs. The research found that 86 per cent of consumers claim to make decisions about which services they use online based on their understanding, or perception of its security.

Of those 75 per cent said they base their decision, in part, on whether the site displays security certificates, such as the Verisign padlock, in the bottom right hand corner of their browser.

CA's Perry agreed that perception is therefore a major factor.

"The fact of the matter is that padlock means nothing because it can easily be faked but consumers see that and they think the site is secure," he said.

As such the success of federation may rests on tapping into that mindset and creating a perception of security. And with the survey also revealing that a shocking 36 per cent of respondents don't want anything to do with protecting their own identity, the streamlined identity management offered by federation may have more appeal than the survey's other findings suggest. Similarly 84 per cent of respondents said the company providing the service should be responsible for managing those personal details.

Banks came out as by far the most trusted organisations and Perry said he believes they would be the most effective advocates of federation.

Perry added that consumers may not realise it but many have already signed up for a system along the lines of federation, albeit one which is actually "far more pervasive".

"Consumers all have their supermarket loyalty cards which they use with all manner of retailers who are all sharing that data," he said.

"The amount of data being shared as a result of that loyalty card is far greater than federation would require," he said.