On the Internet, as in the physical world, we have many identities depending on the situation.  But unlike the physical world, the Internet affords a high degree of anonymity, which can be good and bad.  We are free to participate in online surveys anonymously, for example, but we can also be tempted to spout off under a fake identity. 

Recently, the chief executive of Whole Foods Market was accused of “sock puppeting,” meaning he assumed a false identity online and posted comments promoting his company and attacking competitors.  The SEC is investigating whether or not he broke the law with his posts, which he had been making for years.  (See article.)

The Internet was not built with identity in mind, purposely.  As online citizens, we need to be constantly aware that the digital world is on shaky ground in terms of identity, yet it increasingly requires strong identity management, with trust, as the Net becomes more and more commercial.  Digital Trust Volume 2 on identity management explores these issues.

There seems to be no end to the “power of trust” in the digital world.  There are dozens of invocations of the word “trust” in company, product and service names, and “trust” is used to explain why products and services are valuable, superior or at least not harmful.

Now, a new service is being offered by WabiSabiLabi.com that will auction software vulnerabilities to the highest bidder.  (See article.) 

On the one hand, the service is in the best entrepreneurial spirit of getting value out of the intellectual property of security researchers.  (By the way, the researchers will have to “trust” WabiSabiLabi to protect their intellectual property rights during the process of the auction.)  On the other hand, the possibility that software security flaws will end up in the hands of criminals generates a lot of concern about the ultimate outcome of such auctions.  How do we control the participants in these auctions?

According to Herman Zampariolo, WabiSabiLabi’s chief executive, the company will thoroughly screen all potential buyers (and sellers), building a base of trusted bidders.  So we are not to worry – the auctioned vulnerabilities will only end up in the hands of trustworthy, ethical customers.  Ironically, the “power of trust” is being invoked to support a service auctioning vulnerabilities that could reduce trust in the digital enterprise.

WabiSabiLabi will depend on its ability to implement a trusted bidder scheme to legitimize its new vulnerability auction service.  Previous attempts at a similar service were abandoned.  It’s easy to invoke the word “trust” and seek a way to generate a commercially viable base of trusted bidders, but it’s hard to define and enforce what that trust is in the identification, authentication and qualification of bidders.

Nevertheless, like hope, trust springs eternal.

Maximizing the value of intellectual property through digital trust is discussed in the Digital Trust report series, Volume 3, “Intellectual Property Protection: Minding Your Mind Power” (expected to be available in late August here).

The “dual mode” consumer phone is here.  T-Mobile just introduced a new program that may offer just what you need to cancel your home voice line and have one phone that serves as both a phone in the home and a mobile phone on the go.  With HotSpot @Home, your broadband connection becomes “your personal cell tower” that won’t chew away at your minutes.  It also leverages virtually any open hotspot around the world to do the same thing.
 
Most people I know who use a cellphone for business shy away from using a cellphone in the home or office because they either have a poor cell signal there or they have another phone available.  In the home, T-Mobile takes that constraint away by providing the consumer with a turnkey home wireless solution that provides dual mode WiFi and cellular calling.  Bottom line: This sets up a a “perfect storm” for the telco and broadband industries to navigate through.  Read more here.

The connected world landscape changed significantly yesterday when the FCC agreed to the largest U.S. telco merger ever, uniting AT&T and BellSouth and thereby bringing Cingular under one roof.  The new AT&T provides Internet and phone service across large areas of the midwest, southwest and southeast, and is the largest cellular carrier in the U.S.  The merger complements the industry crossovers trend identified in Connected World and is similarly driven by the promise of Internet-based services.  The new AT&T is expected to provide a wider array of services, including video services that compete with cable TV, as well as unbundled DSL (an eleventh-hour concession along with net neutrality; see yesterday’s post below).  See article.

AT&T made numerous concessions yesterday regarding net neutrality and other consumer-friendly matters in an effort to gain approval by the Federal Communications Commission before the end of the year for AT&T’s merger with BellSouth.  The proposed merger has been in review since its announcement in March; consumer groups and Internet companies have been pressing for the concessions as a condition of the merger, which would be the largest U.S. telecommunications merger in history.  Net neutrality is an important concession, with AT&T agreeing to treat all Internet content equally rather than charging premium fees for delivering certain forms of content, such as video, with preferential or “fast lane” treatment.  Correspondingly, other content, such as VoIP packets, cannot be slowed or blocked.  See the Connected World‘s discussion of net neutrality on pp. 20-21.  The net-neutrality condition put forth by AT&T expires in two years.  For more on the AT&T concessions, see article (subscription required).