Barcelona Digital and Fraunhofer Institute, among others, are involved in the R&D European Di.me
- In the frame of the Debate "Digital Identity: how to build, use, and protect our presence on the network", has presented a tool that will allow to the users to have of all personal and professional dates present on the Internet - such as Facebook or LinkedIn - integrated into one application, from where may manage and adapt to decide, as well, what "digital identity" use in each area.
- The Di.me R&D project has a budget of 4,35 million of Euros and will end in 2013. Currently, there isn't a tool with these characteristics.
- During the debate, police experts, in security and headhunters have identified the main threats currently present on the Internet and have focused the future trends in future to the identification of persons in the network.
Barcelona Digital, technology centre specialized in R&D+i in ICT, and member of TECNIO -the only network that boosts technology transfer and business innovation in Catalonia-, has started a European project, di.me, which will enable the management, organization and the exchange of personal data across social nets from a single tool. Today, in the Auditorium of the CaixaForum in Barcelona, has presented the project in the framework of the Debate "Digital Identity: how to build, use, and protect our presence on the network". The Act is framed in the cycle of Digital Economy Debates organized by Barcelona Digital.
The project, presented by Dr. Fabian Hermann, researcher and Advisor of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, will stipulate in an intelligent application that will integrate and collect all personal data existing in Internet about the users. Through this tool, the user may manage their data and choose what to use in each case, adapting their "digital identity" to every social environment. The application will can use both from a PC and a mobile phone. Currently, there isn't a tool with these characteristics.
The application will analyze the activity of a person in digital environments (social nets, Internet navigation, files...) and on the environment from your PC and mobile device. This information will be categorize so will be create different identities that an person can have (vocational, social, family) and will be integrate into this application. From the construction of "digital identities" of the user (personal data, preferences, tastes, etc.), it may organize information and choose which uses in each context, depending, for example, of the social net such as Facebook, or a professional Congress where attendees to exchange information between them. In addition, the system will incorporate elements based on artificial intelligence that serve to filter the external information (such as services, contents or contacts) and advise to the user about its preferences.
During the debate, Sven Wynants, YER consultant, has explained how currently influence the social nets in the personal selection process. In this sense, Wynants has ensured that "certainly the professional networks are a tool to help them do their jobs. This is demonstrated by the dates of social networks as like LinkedIn, which has doubled its users in the last months". According to Wynants, "45% of RRHH professionals use social networks to find professionals, and until a 52% of professionals could dismiss a candidate by their digital print". However, Wynants has ensured that the use of these tools is only one more instrument for evaluate a candidate, and that in any case the RRHH companies and Headhunters must always contrast the information through personal interviews to the candidates and references from previous work.
For other part, Rubèn Mora, Head of the Central Unit of crime information of the Mossos d'Esquadra, has identified some of the most common offences currently on the Internet, like the identity usurpation or zombie networks that use different types of crimes such as bank fraud, electronic commerce, in the scope of the privacy of individuals, etc. Mora has specified that the usurpation of identity in social networks has different levels and that the most easiest criminally of prosecute are the intermediate or advanced levels, when the malicious person is active, use photos from the victim, speaks with your contacts, and even use commercial documents, for example.
According with Josep Bardalló, CTO of Passwordbank, the trend in the field of digital identification is "use intermediate systems that ask to the user their identification data only one time, that validate using a central authentication system, and then this system is responsible of introduce these credentials in other online environments that require identification". Bardalló also has appointed that "in Spain we are pioneers in electronic certificates".
Fernando Espona, Manager of Business development of security systems of INDRA, has emphasized that the DNI-e not solve the digital identity problems, and that need for data protection systems, an unambiguous identification code, and some system that associate the digital identities of people with its real identity.
The Di.me project
The privacy management and the loss of control of people about their personal data is a major challenge of the information society. Di.me wants to contribute to the people, and the social and economic agents, use of more efficient and convenient form of its data on Internet. The application which will be developed in the framework of the Di.me will allow increase the productivity of professionals, allowing that users can automatically organize your information and contacts for adapt them to the changing characteristics of personal and occupational environments.
The R&D international project will last 3 years and has a budget of 4,35 million Euros, financed partially by the 7th European Frame Program.
By the international character of the Consortium, the project will be developed in collaboratively by all Europe: Germany, Spain, Brussels, Ireland, England, and Italy. The prestigious Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (Germany) leads the project with other three University research centers: National University of Ireland Galway (Ireland), Universität Siegen (Germany) and Barcelona Digital Technology Centre of Catalonia specializing in ICT. Also are part of the Consortium the companies Telecom Italia, YellowMap (Germany), CASO Software (Germany) and the entity Asimelec (Asociación Multisectorial de Empresas de Tecnologías de la Información, Comunicaciones y Electrónica).
Some examples of implementation of the new tool
Ana use the di.me application since a year, to control and monitor your personal data on the network. The application shows what information is published about her, what people can see it, etc. In some cases, Ana finds that its dates are not used properly and use di.me to change them or claim to the person responsible.
In addition, Ana uses the application to be in contact with its family, because she has configured to show – only its family - when she is at home, at work or in another city, through the automatic updating of its status in its social networks.
Ana also uses Di.me to organize and improve your professional network, compiling information published on Internet about their contacts. Each time that want to attend to professional act, review the list of attendees and she registers through di.me. When the registration system ask her some personal information, the tool recommends that she bring a certain "pack" of personal information (a "digital identity"). Similarly, the tool suggests what interesting people attending the event. Anna decides to accept the suggested digital identity and simultaneously checks the contacts to LinkedIn.
When Ana arrives at the event, di.me automatically shows the digital identity that she has previously configured for business events. But also decides to change some personal information and share with attendees some documents and reports. During the event, Ana uses di.me to know what people are present and identify some of their contacts and others potentially interesting. In addition, has configured di.me to alert her if some of this persons is near.