[foaf-protocols] ABC4Trust - another new project

[Jan Wildeboer]

http://abc4trust.de/

{ Attribute-based Credentials for Trust
Concept and project objective(s)


The goal of ABC4Trust is to address the federation and 
interchangeability of technologies that support trustworthy yet 
privacy-preserving Attribute-based Credentials (ABC). So far credentials 
such as digitally signed pieces of personal information or other 
information used to authenticate or identify a user where not designed 
to respect the users privacy. They invariably reveal the identity of the 
holder even though the application at hand often needs much less 
information, for instance only confirmation that the holder is a 
teenager or is eligible for social benefits. In contrast to that, 
Attribute-based Credentials allow a holder to reveal just the minimal 
information required by the application, without giving away full 
identity information. These credentials thus facilitate the 
implementation of a trustworthy and at the same time privacy-protecting 
digital society.

The objectives of ABC4Trust are:

- to define a common, unified architecture for ABC systems to allow 
comparing their respective features and combining them on common 
platforms, and

- to deliver open reference implementations of selected ABC systems and 
deploy them in actual production pilots allowing provably accredited 
members of restricted communities to provide anonymous feedback on their 
community or its members.

Jan