Microsoft: Fostering A Trust Ecosystem Online

Gates emphasized that the industry needs to work together to provide a wide range of digital identities for people, organizations, devices and code. Gates highlighted work Microsoft is doing with the industry in support of the Identity Metasystem, a way users and sites can more safely and privately exchange personal identity information across the Internet.

To help end users, organizations and developers connect to the Identity Metasystem, Microsoft will introduce new technologies including “InfoCard,” the code name for a new feature of Microsoft Windows that simplifies and improves the safety of accessing resources and sharing personal information on the Internet. Gates announced that “InfoCard” will be delivered as part of WinFX, Microsoft’s managed code programming model, and will support Windows Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 2, and Windows Server™ 2003 Service Pack 1 and R2.

“The Identity Metasystem addresses the fundamental need for a platform-independent identity architecture for the Internet,” said Lawrence Lessig, professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the school’s Center for Internet and Society.

“It insulates consumers and businesses from the intricacies of the numerous individual identity systems that are in use today, and provides a much-needed framework for information to be shared more easily and securely online.”

Learn more about InfoCard in this Q&A with Richard Turner, product manager for “InfoCard” at Microsoft. Be sure to read his answer to the question: "What impact do you think “InfoCard” technology might have on consumers?"

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