D-FOAF - Distributed Identity Management based on Social Networks

Abstract

Contemporary Web consists of more than just information, it provides a large number of services, which often require identi¿cation of it¿s users. Since distributed or shared identi¿cation systems are not yet widely adopted many users have to maintain a large number of different credentials for different services. Furhermore current authorisation systems require strict centralisation of the authorisation procedure. Although the feature of enabling user¿s friends or good friends of a friends to access user resources would be beneficial for services and business on the Web, it is not usually offered by existing systems. In this article we present D-FOAF, a distributed identity management system that utilizes social networks. We show how information inherent in social networks can be utilised to provide community driven access rights delegation and distributed authorisation.